Russia’s Aeroflot & Transaero airlines banned from flying to Ukraine from Oct. 25

Sanctioned Russian airlines, Aeroflot and Transaero among them, will be banned from entering Ukraine from October 25. A government decree will also ban all Russian transit planes, which are carrying military equipment and soldiers, from flying over the country.

“The flights of the Russian airlines through the Ukrainian territory have been banned, should they contain cargos of military or dual purpose or soldiers,” Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Friday.

Leading Russian airlines Aeroflot and Transaero will also be banned from flying to Ukraine. The list may be extended.

“Russian planes with the Russian tricolor [flags] have no place in Ukrainian airports,” the PM said, as quoted by a Ukrainian government press release.

Yatsenyuk also ordered the Russian side to be informed about this move. Ukraine’s aviation authorities later declared that the airlines, which had been sanctioned, would be banned from flying into the country from October 25.

"Ukraine's state aviation service has started to notify the Russian airline companies on the sanctions list that they will not be given permission to carry out flights to Ukrainian cities from the start of the winter flying season (Oct. 25)," the statement said.

In response, Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said on Friday that the move compels Moscow to take counter measures against Ukraine’s decision, Interfax reported.

The Ukrainian PM has no right to ban Russia’s airlines from entering the country it is the prerogative of aviation authorities to take such decisions, said Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

It is still not clear whether Russian authorities had been given notice about the changes by their Ukrainian counterparts.

“It would be insane to ban Russia’s airlines from Ukraine, however, based on what has been going on over the last 20 months, it would be wrong to ignore the announcement,” he said as quote by RIA Novosti reported.

Aside from transit flights, Ukraine has also issued a separate order to prohibit the use of Russian software in the country and in particular, the anti-virus provider, Kaspersky Lab. Yatsenyuk instructed the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine to immediately disable the program and stop it being purchased and used in government agencies.

This is confirmation of restrictions, which were introduced by Kiev last week, as they imposed new sanctions on Moscow.

READ MORE: Ukraine sanctions 25 Russian airlines, including 2 which don't exist

The latest sanctions imposed by Ukraine also affect 28 Russian banks, state TV channels, a helicopter design and manufacturing company and a number of individuals.

The government has urged all the sanctions to be implemented immediately.

Relations between Moscow and Kiev went rapidly downhill after Crimea overwhelmingly voted to rejoin Russia in the spring of 2014. This remains a hotspot in relations between the two countries as Ukraine claims its rights to the peninsula.

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Kiev has also long accused Russia of a “secret war” in the southeast of Ukraine, where local rebel forces battle against the military of the coup-imposed government.

All these allegations have been denied by Moscow, who demands evidence should be shown to support the claims.