Biden bans Russian flights from U.S. airspace, following other nations
President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address Tuesday evening said the United States will be joining 36 other countries by closing its airspace to Russian planes following Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last week.
The move is likely to trigger the Kremlin to retaliate. Russia has already responded to the other airspace bans by closing its airspace to those countries.
While it is unclear when the airspace ban will go into effect, sources told Reuters and the Assoiciated Press that Biden will announce it Tuesday evening during his address. Russian flights are prohibited in the European Union, Canada and the United Kingdom, while flights from those nations are unable to enter Russian airspace.
U.S. citizens last week were advised to leave Russia as soon as possible due to flight issues.
"An increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines," the U.S. embassy alert stated. "U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available."
Biden plans on focusing on Putin's aggression during his address.