Putin signs law allowing seizure of foreign planes for domestic flights

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that will allow for foreign planes to be seized and used domestically as tensions grow between Russia and the international community over its invasion of Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing TASS state news agency. 

Foreign aircraft companies that previously rented to Russia and have since stopped doing business with the country due to sanctions could see their aircraft taken by Moscow and operated within the country under the new law, according to TASS, the newspaper reported.

But high levels of maintenance are required for passenger jets, and plane support and maintenance have been blocked under the sanctions, meaning that the new law will only have some impact, the Journal noted.

But the move is a another escalation between Russia and the international community, which has sought to further economically isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, the U.S. announced that it would be blocking Russian imports of oil, natural gas and coal. President Biden also announced that the U.S. and other Group of Seven nations would be revoking Russia’s preferential trade status.

A slew of businesses around the world has also said that they would be stopping or halting business in Russia over the conflict, which has been widely condemned. 

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly pushed to have loopholes addressed on existing sanctions, to restrict Russian access to international waterways and to further sanction Russian officials during a call with Biden.