Baltic States to close airspace to leaders traveling to Russia for May 9 parade

On May 9, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will close their airspace to foreign leaders heading to Moscow to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade, citing opposition to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that “using Estonian airspace for the May 9 parade in Moscow is out of the question,” adding that Estonia “will not support this event in any form.” He emphasized that EU partners had been clearly informed that participation in “propaganda events organized by a country that started and continues a war in Europe must be avoided.”

The move came after reports that Latvia and Lithuania denied Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić the right to fly through their airspace en route to Moscow. They also refused airspace access to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.