Canada says Russian aircraft has violated its airspace

Canada has banned Russian flights from its airspace in retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

Russia reportedly violated the Canadian airspace on Sunday, on the same day the government imposed a ban on flights from Moscow in retaliation against its invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement on Twitter, Transport Canada said: “We are aware that Aeroflot Flight 111 violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace.”

The regulator added that an investigation has been launched into the Aeroflot and the independent air navigation service provider, NAVCAN, leading up to the violation.

“We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations,” it said.

Earlier on Sunday, the Justin Trudeau government had announced that it would close its air space to flights from Russia.

“We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine,” transport minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement on Twitter.

A spokesperson for the minister told Reuters that while there are no direct flights between Russia and Canada, several Russian flights a day have until now passed through Canadian airspace to other countries.

Canada’s move to close its airspace to Russia comes amid similar moves by other Western countries.

Countries including Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Luxembourg, have also shut their airspace to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The UK suspended Aeroflot’s transfer permit last Thursday.

Canada has committed to providing aid and support to Ukraine as it resists Russian troops.

Canada will provide additional airlift support through the Canadian Armed Forces to be used by NATO and for the delivery of the aid, with the first aircraft departing for Europe on Monday, defence minister Anita Anand was quoted as saying by CTV.

“Through these tumultuous times, we must unite as a country and redouble our efforts to support our allies and trusted international partners,” she said.

The country is also sending 460 additional troops to join the approximately 800 already in Europe as part of NATO.

In addition, Canada also has provided Ukraine with a $500m loan and $7.8m worth of lethal equipment and ammunition.