Ukraine’s prime minister closes its airspace to Russia in latest escalation

Ukraine’s prime minister says his government has determined to close the airspace of the nation to any or all airplanes that are Russian.

Kiev prohibited all Russian airlines last month from flying into Ukraine, but Russian airplanes are permitted to fly over its land.

Arseny Yatsenyuk declared your choice to close the airspace at a televised government session. It comes as tensions simmer and Ukraine following the annexation a year ago as well as a separatist war that’s killed more than 8,000 individuals in Russia and made parts of the industrial heartland.

The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom announced earlier that it was cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine as the state hadn’t paid in advance.