Ukraine crisis: Russian airlines Aeroflot halts all international flights from March 8

Moscow [Russia], March 5 (ANI): Russian flag carrier Aeroflot halted all international flights from March 8, reported The Moscow Times on Saturday citing news agencies.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire to allow civilians in the port city of Mariupol and the town of Volnovakha for facilitating the evacuation of civilians.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday called on the European countries to close all their ports for the Russian ships amid the heightened tensions in Ukraine.
Taking to Twitter, Kuleba said, "Help us stop Putin. Close all European ports for Russian ships. The time to act is now."
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey has also warned all coastal and non-coastal countries it would not allow warships through its straits Bosporus and the Dardanelles as a part of the Montreux Convention adopted in 1936.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
Amid the Ukraine-Russia crisis raging for over a week now, Ukraine plans to hold the third round of talks with Russian officials to try to end the fighting triggered by Moscow's invasion this weekend, said one of Kyiv's negotiators. (ANI)