Biden bans Russian planes from US airspace

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Joe Biden said Tuesday during his SOTU address that the U.S. will ban Russian flights from its airspace.
• The U.S. joins Canada and the European Union in banning Russian planes from entering their airspace.
• Putin on Monday banned airlines from several countries from flying over Russia’s airspace, in retaliation for the nations’ bans.

During his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Biden announced that the U.S. would ban all Russian aircraft from entering American airspace, in retaliation for the ongoing military assault on Ukraine.

“Tonight, I’m announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” he said.

The president’s announcement follows similar moves by Canada and the European Union to ban Russian planes from entering their airspace.

While stopping short of committing ground troops or enacting a no-fly zone over Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have already imposed stern sanctions against Russia — including directly targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — as global condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine continues to grow.

Biden also said that he was prepared to continue to implement further sanctions and economic hardships on Putin’s government.

“He has no idea what’s coming,” Biden said.

On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was closing off its airspace for Russian-controlled or -owned jets — a move that came as many member countries made plans to shut down their own fly zones to such aircraft.

France, Britain, Austria, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Estonia, among others, joined in the airspace ban in protest. “There is no place for planes of the aggressor state in democratic skies,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tweeted.

Omar Alghabra, the transport minister of Canada, said on Sunday they’d close off their airspace as well, planning to hold Russia accountable for the recent invasion of Ukraine, which Biden has called a “needless act of aggression against global peace and security.”

On Monday, Putin banned airlines from dozens of nations, including from the EU, from flying over Russia’s airspace, in retaliation for the countries’ bans.

In his address to the nation, Biden also made clear that he was prepared to use the U.S. military to protect other NATO members, including those former Soviet-era republics that recently joined.

“As I’ve made crystal clear, the United States and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power — every single inch,” Biden said.

Yet as he spoke, Russian troops continued their advance in Ukraine.

Source: AOL