British Airways has been banned from landing at Russian airports and from entering its airspace, the Russian civil aviation regulator announced on Friday, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russian authorities said that the move to ban the airline was in response to actions by UK aviation authorities, which on Thursday banned Russian state carrier Aeroflot from landing at British airports.

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“This measure was taken in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Air Services Agreement between Russia and the UK as a response to unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities regarding the restriction on regular flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with Russia or registered in Russia,” said Russian civil aviation regulator Rosaviatsia in a statement on Friday.

“I think that’s their retaliation for us yesterday banning Aeroflot from using and landing in the United Kingdom. That’s their tit for tat response,” UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace told ITV after Russian authorities announced their decision.

British Airways, which used to operate three flights every week between London and Moscow, has assured customers of a full refund for services cancelled due to the Russian announcement.

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“We apologise for the inconvenience but this is clearly a matter beyond our control. We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” the airlines said in a statement.

Since Russian launched an invasion on Thursday morning, Western countries have taken several steps to pressurize Moscow into withdrawing. Apart from sanctions imposed by several countries, major sporting events, including the Russian Grand Prix, the UEFA Champions League final, and skiing events, have been cancelled in Russia in response to the invasion.