Clifford Chance
Ukraine's attempt to seize Russian aircraft flying to Crimea
2 December 2020
Following the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation in March 2014 Ukrainian authorities have formally closed all airports in Crimea as well as its airspace. It was first reported in September 2020 that a Ukrainian court at the request of the prosecutor's office for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol (currently located in Kiev, Ukraine) issued an order to seize 65 aircraft operated by Russian airlines, as they are flying to Crimea in violation of Ukrainian laws. In November 2020, another 44 aircraft were added to this list of 'seized' aircraft. In this briefing we summarise potential legal implications of these events for English law leases with Russian airlines.
