Russia on Thursday barred at least two European airliners from landing in Moscow because they planned to avoid Belarusian airspace – an indication that Russian President Vladimir Putin is stepping up protection for the former Soviet state after his cheeky arrest of a dissident journalist aboard a Ryanair flight earlier today. week.

Austrian Airlines confirms to US News that Russia has refused to allow a planned flight from Vienna to land in Moscow due to new measures EU countries have imposed to isolate Minsk, forcing its cancellation.

“Based on a recommendation from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Austrian Airlines has suspended flights in Belarusian airspace until further notice,” spokeswoman Yvonne Wachholder wrote in a statement. E-mail. “For this reason, adjustments to the flight route from Vienna to Moscow are necessary. A change in flight routes must be approved by the authorities. The Russian authorities have not given us this clearance. As a result, Austrian Airlines had to cancel today’s flight. from Vienna to Moscow. ”

Air France was the subject of similar punitive measures from Moscow.

“Air France confirms that it had to postpone flight AF1154 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Moscow in a Boeing B787 on May 26, 2021 for operational reasons related to bypassing Belarusian airspace, requiring a new authorization from the Russian authorities to enter their flight. territory, “a spokesperson told US News. “The flight has been postponed to May 27 and a new update will be provided this evening. The passengers were assisted by Air France staff at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Air France regrets the inconvenience caused by this situation . ”

Analysts believe the move is clearly aimed at undermining European powers, which, through the EU, have imposed a rare and swift unified condemnation of Belarus, including new flight orders to avoid its airspace and taking into account new sanctions against it.

“Russia wants to try and create constituencies to oppose these ‘sanctions’,” said Tim Morrison, who was the senior Russian adviser to the White House National Security Council in the Trump administration, and who is now Principal Investigator at the Hudson Institute.

Lukasz Adamski, Deputy Director of the Center for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding, based in Warsaw, tweeted that Russia “touches the weakest links in the chain of European solidarity, hoping that this will lead to a breach”, according to one translation.

Russia this week expressed passive support for Belarus after its autocratic leader Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday ordered a MiG-29 fighter jet to force a landing on a Ryanair flight traveling from Greece to Lithuania.

On the ground in Minsk, local authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, one of Lukashenko’s main critics – especially following an election last year widely seen as rigged – as well as his girlfriend , which is Russian. Four other passengers did not return to the flight before takeoff, prompting Ryanair executives and other European leaders to claim they were members of the Belarusian or Russian secret service.

Moscow’s growing support for Belarus – which in recent years has expressed interest in closer ties with the West – imposes a series of pitfalls for European countries in the near future, especially if they give in to new ones. pressure on Moscow.

“I hope that European countries will remain strong and united in this area,” said retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who until 2018 oversaw all US forces in Europe. He began his command in 2014, when Russia forcibly annexed Crimea. “They should condemn the Kremlin for its support and praise for Lukashenko’s actions.

“If they get attached to this, then it only incites further bullying from the Kremlin.”