February 24: the sky over Ukraine is clear of aircrafts

According to FlightRadar 24, since the morning of February 24, the entire territory of Ukraine has turned into a no-fly zone.

Earlier it was reported that the German airline Lufthansa and the Swiss Swiss Air from Monday, February 21, suspended flights to Kiev amid the aggravation of the conflict in the Donbass.

Representatives of airlines explained the decision with concern for the safety of citizens and crew, reports BBC News. Airlines will not fly to the Ukrainian capital at least until the end of February. German Lufthansa also suspended flights to Odessa, but left flights to Lviv.

Then other carriers joined them. Over the territory of Ukraine and in a number of Russian southern regions, flights of civil aircraft have been banned since the morning of February 24.

The work of the Kiev Borispol airport was suspended, all people were taken out of the building. Flights are not accepted in Voronezh, Belgorod, Krasnodar, Volgograd, Simferopol. In addition, the Platov airport in Rostov-on-Don was closed.

The Federal Air Transport Agency does not recommend that passengers of the nearest flights and those who meet them arrive at the airports of these cities. All changes in the work schedule of air harbors and airlines must be clarified on the official websites of airports and airlines, including social networks.

From the information on the scoreboard of the Sheremetyevo airport it follows that 47 flights have already been canceled, mainly in the south and south-west direction. Among them are flights to Anapa, Sochi, Voronezh, Volgograd. Simferopol and Hurghada. Dozens of flights have been delayed.

Early in the morning of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military special operation in the Donbass. He made the corresponding statement after the appeal of the heads of the DPR and LPR with a request for military assistance. The Russian leader said that the occupation of Ukraine is not included in Moscow's plans.

After that, the media reported about explosions and shootings in many cities of Ukraine. There were reports that Russian troops took the Ukrainian Mariupol, and units of the People's Militia of the Luhansk People's Republic launched an assault on the city of Shchastia, controlled by Kiev, 30 kilometers from Luhansk.

Social networks have already published data on civilian casualties in Ukraine in connection with Russian shelling.