The US Federal Aviation Administration has recommended that US airlines fly with caution over some areas of Russia and Ukraine. This is clear from two notices issued by the agency (NOTAM), TASS reported.
Caution is advised when flying “to, from, within or above” the Flight Information Regions (FIR) Kiev, Dnieper (formerly Dnepropetrovsk) and Simferopol, as well as the areas 100 km from them flight information Moscow and Rostov-on-Don.
Both documents are issued in connection with “possible flight safety risks related to the escalation of regional tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which could potentially lead to cross-border clashes without prior notice, increased military activity and / or conflict.”
Both notices apply to all US airlines and commercial operators.
The flight information area is an airspace with certain dimensions, within which flight information services and emergency notification are provided.
At a press briefing today, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that stopping Russia’s passage of foreign military and state-owned vessels in a number of areas of the Black Sea from April 24 to October 31 was an attempt to destabilize Ukraine.
“This will be another example of the ongoing campaign to undermine and destabilize Ukraine. We call on Russia to end the pursuit of vessels in the region and the build-up of forces along the border with Ukraine and Crimea,” he said.
Kirby added that the United States reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, including within its territorial waters.
A spokesman for the US State Department said that Russia’s request for ten American diplomats to leave in response to the expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats from Washington for alleged malicious activity was exacerbating the tension and causing regret.
“It is not in our interest to enter a cycle of escalating tensions, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian response against the United States,” the spokesman said.
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