Air flights from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea are illegal, therefore airlines performing such flights could be subject to international and Ukrainian sanctions, spokesman of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Yevhen Perebyinis has said.

"Crimean airports are closed under the decision of the government of Ukraine. Any flights there and back are against the law of Ukraine and international regulations and therefore airlines could be applied international sanctions and those of the ICAO," he told Interfax-Ukraine.

However, he called on Armenian colleagues not to accept the air flights of Grozny Avia from occupied Simferopol, noting that Russian authorities resorted to ruse to hide the illegality of flights from Crimea, carrying out an intermediate landing of the plane in the Russian city of Anapa.

"We hope that, despite these tricks, Armenian air traffic controllers will clearly understand that this is just a trick to legitimize illegal flights from annexed Crimea," Perebyinis said.