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President Joe Biden plans to announce Tuesday night that the U.S. is banning Russian aircraft from its airspace in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the decision.
The move follows similar action by Canada and the European Union this week. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s State of the Union speech in advance.
In remarks released by the White House in advance of the speech, Biden offers an ominous warning that without consequences, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression wouldn’t be contained to Ukraine.
“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson — when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,” Biden says. “They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising.”
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The ban would come on top of a wide range of sanctions the U.S., Europe and other nations have imposed on Russia that are expected to hammer that nation’s economy.
On Sunday, the European Union and Canada announced they were closing their airspace to Russian airlines and private planes owned by wealthy Russians.
The Canadian ban led Russia’s largest airline, Aeroflot, on Monday to say that it had suspended flights to New York, Washington, Miami and Los Angeles through Wednesday.
The U.S. ban raises the possibility that Russia could respond by prohibiting U.S. flights over its territory, which would make for longer and more costly flights, especially for cargo carriers. FedEx and UPS both fly over Russia, although they announced this weekend that they were suspending deliveries to that country.
No U.S. airlines fly to Russia, though a few flights to India pass through Russian airspace. American Airlines routes its lone flight between Delhi and New York to avoid Russian airspace, which adds miles to the trip and means that the flight often requires a refueling stop in Bangor, Maine, on westbound flights.
Russia also has an…
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Source : time
