Russia’s Aeronautical Information Center issued a NOTAM (a Notice to Airmen) on Sunday which will close most of the airspace over the Sea of Azov starting at midnight between Sunday and Monday, as the US continued to warn that Russia intends to invade Ukraine.
A number of NOTAMs have also been issued partially closing the airspace over the Black Sea, with some of the NOTAMs having already taken effect and others taking effect later this week. Independent trackers reported that a number of Russian naval vessels entered the Sea of Azov as well on Sunday.
The NOTAMs comes amid heavy fighting in the separatist-held Dunbass region and as CBS News reported on Sunday that the US has intelligence that Russian commanders have been given orders to proceed with an invasion of Ukraine. In anticipation of an attack, the U.S. and other allies, most recently Germany and Austria, have urged their citizens to leave the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine also temporarily relocated its operations from Kyiv to Lviv due to the acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a security alert on Sunday warning that “according to media sources, there have been threats of attacks against shopping centers, railway and metro stations, and other public gathering places in major urban areas, including Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as in areas of heightened tension along the Russian border with Ukraine.”
The alert from the State Department urges U.S. citizens in Russia to take several actions, including avoiding crowds and having evacuation plans that don’t rely on federal government assistance. While top U.S. officials have warned Russia is poised to strike Ukraine and the Pentagon has sent roughly 5,000 troops to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO forces, the Biden administration continues to keep a diplomatic option on the table. The president has stressed no American forces would go into Ukraine if Russia invades.
