“Tonight, I’m announcing that we will join our partners in blocking all Russian flights from American airspace, further isolating Russia and putting extra strain on its economy,” the President added.
When asked if the Biden administration had considered this step in recent days, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the amount of US flights flying over Russia to reach Asia and other parts of the world influenced the decision.

The State Department has recently urged Americans in Russia to consider departing quickly while commercial flights remain available.

US authorities believe that Americans will still be able to leave Russia if Russian flights are unable to reach the US, mentioning train alternatives as one possibility.

The US has joined Canada and the European Union in excluding Russian aircraft from its airspace. Prior to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement that the entire EU will block its airspace to Russian flights, several European countries had already done so, including Germany, France, and Italy.

Following Biden’s declaration Tuesday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the official notice prohibiting Russian planes from entering US airspace would be published Wednesday. This applies to both scheduled passenger flights and cargo and charter planes.

“The United States joins our partners around the world in condemning Putin’s unwarranted action against the Ukrainian people,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced Russia on Tuesday for killing civilians in Ukraine, telling the United Nations Human Rights Council that Russian strikes “target schools, hospitals, and residential buildings.” Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has charged Russia of war crimes in connection with the bombing of Kharkiv.

Last week, the President imposed extra punitive penalties – including against Putin – and export limits aimed at squeezing the Russian economy. Additionally, the US said that it would prohibit American dollar transactions with Russia’s central bank and would completely block the Russian direct investment fund, preventing Russia from mitigating the sanctions’ consequences.

The White House stated Saturday evening that Washington, along with the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada, would exclude some Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions worldwide. Switzerland also stated, in a significant departure from its long-standing neutrality, that it would join the European Union in putting sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The President is expected to use Tuesday night’s State of the Union address to harshly criticize Putin and tout the West’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to excerpts of his address released by the White House, the President would criticize Putin for initiating a war that was “premeditated and unprovoked.”

Zelensky has encouraged Biden to convey to Americans the gravity and consequences of Russia’s invasion and has maintained calls for the US and NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine or to send troops there. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Matthew Chance, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that he has asked Biden to give a forceful and “useful” message regarding the Russian incursion during Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech.
This article has been modified to include new information.