European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU will close its airspace to Russian planes as part of the next wave of sanctions on Moscow over its military offensive in Ukraine.

Speaking on Sunday, von der Leyen said Europe was “shutting down the EU airspace” for all Russian aircraft, declaring “they won’t be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU. Including the private jets of oligarchs.”

The ban will apply to Russian-owned, controlled and registered planes.

The closure of European airspace represents an expansion of nationwide blocks by the UK, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic and others announced during the preceding days.

European countries and the EU itself have deployed an array of sanctions against Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine launched by President Vladimir Putin on February 24.

Von der Leyen also announced the EU would ban “the Kremlin’s media machine,” saying RT, Sputnik and their subsidiaries would “no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war.”

Source: RT