The British Foreign Office advised its citizens to leave Russia

LondonLONDON, Mar 5 necessary, to consider leaving the country. «It is recommended that British citizens whose presence in Russia is not necessary consider leaving the country on the remaining commercial routes,» the statement said.France advised its citizens to leave Russia. In addition, the Foreign Ministry recommends refraining from any travel to Russia due to «the lack of available flight options to return to the UK and the increased instability of the Russian economy.» Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday morning, February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, the civilian population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question, the President of Russia emphasized. In response, Western countries have imposed another anti-Russian sanctions since 2014. In particular, the EU countries, Great Britain, Canada and the United States announced the decision to close the airspace for Russian aircraft. The authorities of the Russian Federation took retaliatory steps against Western restrictions — mirroring the ban on the flights of carriers of these states through the territory of the country. As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said earlier, the Western sanctions are very serious, Russia was preparing for them in advance. He added that they require analysis and coordination of departments in order to develop response measures that are in the interests of the Russian Federation.