Ukraine on Wednesday banned all Russian airlines from crossing its airspace, shortly after Russian state giant Gazprom said it had halted gas deliveries to Ukraine
Ukraine on Wednesday banned all Russian airlines from crossing its airspace, shortly after Russian state giant Gazprom said it had halted gas deliveries to Ukraine because Kiev failed to make upfront payments for more supplies.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a televised cabinet meeting that the latest ban was justified because "Russia might use Ukrainian airspace to stage provocations".
"This is an issue of our country's national security -- a response to the Russian Federation and its aggressive actions."
Earlier, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said that as of 0700 GMT Ukraine's Naftogaz had used up all the gas it had paid for and "no new upfront payment has been made".
"As such, deliveries have been stopped until the receipt of new payments from the Ukrainian company," Miller said in a statement.
"The refusal to buy Russian gas will create serious risks for the reliable transit of gas to Europe through Ukraine and for the supply of gas to Ukrainian consumers during the upcoming winter," Miller warned.
Russia and Ukraine have been involved in a festering gas pricing dispute that has seen supplies repeatedly cut off.
Moscow turned the taps back on in October under a deal that saw Kiev switch to a pre-payment system, meaning that cash-strapped Ukraine must stump up money in advance to cover Russian gas deliveries.
Some 15 percent of the gas used in Europe travels through Ukraine, and the EU has been involved in mediating the dispute between the two sides.
Kiev on October 25 barred most Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine -- a decision that drew immediate reciprocal measures by Moscow.
But President Petro Poroshenko's government had at the time allowed Russian airlines to cross Ukrainian airspace to other destination.
Yatsenyuk said the new decision came "in part as result of the escalation of the military and geopolitical situation".
