Direct flights between Ukraine and Russia have ended as of 00h01L Sunday, October 25 following the collapse of last-ditch talks between the sides this past weekend.

Representatives from Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) and the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine (SAAU) held negotiations in Brussels on Saturday, October 24 in a bid to resolve the dispute. However, according to local Russian and Ukrainian media, as neither side was willing to compromise on their respective positions, the talks were subsequently abandoned.

Earlier this year, the Ukrainian government banned Russian carriers from either serving its territory or transiting its airspace in retaliation for their continued service to what Kiev terms "temporarily occupied Crimea and restricted areas". Russia, which has administered Crimea as a de-facto federal subject since the peninsula's unilateral annexation in March last year, has responded in kind by imposing its own ban on Ukrainian carriers either serving its territory or transiting its airspace.

While the cessation of direct flights between the two neighbours is expected to cost carriers from either side up to USD125 million in lost revenue, airlines from other Soviet Republics are expected to gain substantially from a dramatic rise in transit traffic. As recently reported, Belavia (B2, Minsk National) and Air Moldova (MLD, Chisinau International) have already set about launching new routes to Ukraine in a bid to corner the Ukraine-Russia travel market.