Paris: French flag carrier Air France told Sputnik on Monday (February 21) that it has cancelled flights to and from Ukraine on February 22 owing to security risks as a "precaution." "Air France is continuously monitoring the evolution of the geopolitical situation in serviced territories in order to ensure the utmost level of flight safety. Flights AF1752 and AF1753 to and from Kyiv on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 are cancelled due to the situation on the ground [in Ukraine] and as a means of precaution," a company spokesperson said.
Kyiv`s Boryspil airport continues to display the two Air France flights as scheduled at the time of the writing. The precarious situation in the breakaway Donbas region in Ukraine`s east has deteriorated in recent days, with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People`s Republics (DPR and LPR) claiming that the Ukrainian armed forces have shelled their positions.
The Ukrainian security forces also reported a sharp increase in the number of ceasefire violations in Donbas, while denying any offensive actions. In 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the DPR and LPR after they declared independence following what they considered a coup in Kyiv.
Early clashes escalated into a protracted military conflict that claimed thousands of lives and displaced over 2 million Ukrainians. A ceasefire was reached in 2020, but fighting continued to break out occasionally. In the past few months, Western countries and Ukraine have accused Russia of deploying additional troops along the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed these allegations, saying that it has no intention of invading Ukraine, while stressing that it has the right to move its troops within its territory. Russia has also expressed concerns over NATO military activity near its borders and ongoing military support of Ukraine, including an increase in the number of Western military advisers in the breakaway Donbas region and increased arms deliveries to Kyiv.
