Canada, Nordic countries join in closing their airspace to Russian planes

A undated photo obtained on September 18, 2018 shows a Russian IL-20M (Ilyushin 20m) aircraft landing at an unknown location.

A growing number of countries announced on Sunday they are closing their airspace to Russian aircraft.

The officials from Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Iceland all announced measures to further ostracize Russia. It follows similar restrictions from the U.K., Poland, and other countries.

The nations are putting more pressure on Russia by imposing wide-reaching sanctions on it. Russian aircraft can't fly over or land in the nations that impose the rules if there is a ban.

Jeppe Kofod, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Danes, said on his verified account that his government is pushing for a European Union-wide ban of Russian flights. An EU official said that could be a part of new sanctions.

Canada's minister of transport said that they would hold Russia accountable for its attacks against Ukraine.

The days before Russia began its attack, some airlines and delivery services had already reprogrammed their planes around the potential conflict zone. The United Parcel Service said it would stop sending packages to Russia. Wizz Air said it would suspend flights to and from Russia.

Russia said it would ban flights from nations that introduced their own measures. Russia's S7 airline is suspending many of its flights to European countries.