Sweden intends to close its airspace to Russian air traffic

– We’re working on it. The best and fastest way is a common message within the European Union. We will push for that with the meeting of foreign ministers this afternoon, says Hans Dahlgren, on Sunday.

– If it does, it can take effect in a few hours.

The Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland and Belgium have already closed their airspace to Russian aircraft in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, Germany and Italy have decided to do so. On Sunday, Finland, Denmark and Norway will also open to close their airspace to Russia.

– We have consulted with our Nordic neighbors and want to close the airspace to Russian air traffic at the same time they do so, says Norwegian Foreign Minister Anneken Hoytfeldt, via her communications department to E24, VG reports.

Unity within the European Union is great, Says the EU minister, who expects the proposal to pass.

– For that to happen, everyone has to agree on that, but so far there has been a great deal of agreement within the European Union, so I expect everyone will defend that.

Otherwise, the government is preparing for a Swedish decision, which could take a little longer, according to Hans Dahlgren. The goal is to influence Russia in as many ways as possible to end “this crazy invasion,” as Dahlgren puts it. The ministerial meeting is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The European Union has imposed severe sanctions Against Russian companies and individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Union members, along with the United States and the United Kingdom, also agreed to exclude several Russian banks from the Swift banking system.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Thursday. Disputes rage in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, among other countries The second largest city in Kharkiv, About 1.4 million people. The United Nations counts at least 64 civilian casualties and 240 wounded, but fears the actual number is much higher because many deaths have not been confirmed. About 200,000 people are on the run.