KIEV, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian cabinet on Wednesday has decided to impose a ban on irregular direct flights to Russia in addition to the restrictions on regular flights imposed in 2015, local media reported.
According to Interfax-Ukraine news agency, the new restrictions will apply to all private flights except those needed to support the missions of international organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The government's decision was taken after Yuriy Boyko, a Ukrainian presidential candidate and founder of the "Opposition Platform - For Life" party, and a representative of the party visited Moscow last month, the agency said.
In 2015, Kiev barred all Russian airlines from flying to Ukraine in a move that prompted a retaliatory response from Moscow. Transit flights between the two ex-Soviet neighbors were also suspended.
Relations between Kiev and Moscow have been deteriorating since early 2014 over issues of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
