Ukraine crisis: Germany to close its airspace for Russian airlines

BERLIN: Following the lead of other countries, Germany will close its airspace for the Russian planes to extend its support to Ukraine against Russia's ongoing military operations, said a media report.

The German traffic ministry is preparing to close German airspace to Russian planes, The New York Times reported citing a ministry spokeswoman who confirmed the news on Saturday night.

Notably, several other European Union (EU) countries have already announced the closure of their airspace for Russian planes.

Estonia, Romania, Lithuania and Latvia announced on Saturday that they will ban Russian airlines from their airspace.

"We invite all EU countries to do the same. There is no place for planes of the aggressor state in democratic skies. #StandWithUkraine," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in a tweet.

Earlier, the UK, Poland, Moldova and the Czech Republic had also closed their airspace to Russian airlines, CNN reported.

In the early hours on Thursday, Russia launched a special military operation in the Donbas region after the recognition of Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent identities.

The Western countries have strongly condemned the Russian military operation and boosted the sanctions pressure on Moscow.