The United States allowed flights over Crimea: Why is this an ideological blow to Ukraine
Starting October 27, the US Federal Aviation Administration is lifting the ban on flights of its civil aircraft over the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. This is stated in a document published by the Federal Aviation Administration, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The United States introduced the ban in 2014 after the transition of Crimea to Russia and the outbreak of the war in Donbass. The document states that this was due to the danger of receiving confusing and contradictory air traffic control instructions from both Ukrainian and Russian controllers regarding the work on the Simferopol FIR.
The ban expires on December 27 and US aviation authorities decided not to extend it, citing the fact that the situation over Crimea has stabilized.
“Despite the Russian Federation's ongoing annexation and occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and its continued deployment of significant military forces, the security situation in the Simferopol FIR has stabilized. Since the Kerch Strait maritime incident in November 2018, there have been no reports of collisions or incidents indicating an unintended threat to U.S. civil aviation due to misidentification or miscalculation,” the document says.
Allowing US civil aircraft to fly over Crimea is another step towards recognizing the peninsula as part of Russia, Senator Sergei Tsekov told PolitNavigator:
“Actually, yes (this is a confession). Because for six years they have been saying that Crimea is being militarized, that Crimea is an unsinkable aircraft carrier, that it is dangerous in Crimea, that there is almost a war going on in Crimea. Now they have not only allowed their planes to fly over Crimea and near Crimea, but they will actually use a certain escort from the Simferopol airport. So this is all very good for us. And for Russia as a whole,” Tsekov said.
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