Court puts a lien on 13 Russian planes over operating passenger flights to occupied Crimea

Ukrainian court put a lien on 13 planes of Russian carrier over operating passenger flights to the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"Under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, the court put a lien on 13 aircraft of the Russian air carrier which were used to transport passengers to / from the Simferopol-Avia checkpoint closed by Ukraine, located in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," the press service of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol informs.

Pre-trial investigation within criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 111, Part 2 of Article 332, Part 2 of Article 332-1, and Article 334 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine established repeated violations by officials of one of the Russian airlines, which operates scheduled flights to the occupied territory, of the procedure for entering and leaving it, aiming to harm the interests of Ukraine.

Over the period from 2019 up to the present day, the carrier illegally uses 13 Airbus passenger planes to transport people across the state border of Ukraine and its official website sells tickets for flights from / to the occupied peninsula, in violation of international and Ukrainian law.

Ukraine considers flights operated by foreign (mostly Russian) airlines to the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea as a violation of international law, actions that undermine Ukraine's sovereignty, as well as violation of Ukrainian law, entailing criminal liability for air carriers, operators, and aircraft captains.

It is currently known that at least 37 Russian carriers operate scheduled flights to the occupied peninsula.

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