THE European Union will fund supplies of weapons to Ukraine, close its airspace to Russian airlines and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in response to Russia’s invasion.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that “for the first time ever” the 27-nation bloc will finance weapons for a country under attack.

As well as vowing to ban Russian media outlets such as Russia Today and Sputnik, to stop “toxic” disinformation being spread in Europe, von der Leyen set out sanctions against Kremlin “collaborator” and president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

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The EU will also close its airspace to Russian airlines, charter planes and private jets – including those owned by Russian oligarchs.

It is the latest bid by the bloc to stop Vladimir Putin from continuing his attack on Ukraine.

At a press conference, von der Leyen set out the EU’s latest set of sanctions.

She said: “For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack.

“This is a watershed moment.

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“At the same time we are strengthening once more sanctions against the Kremlin and its collaborator Lukashenko’s regime.

“First we are shutting down the EU airspace for Russians. 

“We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered and Russian-controlled aircraft. 

“These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU.

The National:

“This will apply to any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or national person. 

“So let me be very clear, our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane and that includes the private jets of oligarchs too.”

Von der Leyen added that the bloc will also take “another unprecedented step” by banning the “Kremlin’s media machine” in EU countries.

She added: “The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union.

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“So we are developing tools to ban that toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”

The EU chief also had a strong warning for Lukashenko, who recently urged the Ukrainian government to hold talks with Russia, and who von der Leyen described scathingly as “the other aggressor of this war”.

She said: “Lukashenko’s regime is complicit in the vicious attack against Ukraine. 

The National:

Lukashenko and Belarus will also be hit with sanctions for their role in the invasion

“We will hit Lukashenko’s regime with a new package of sanctions.

"We will introduce restrictive measures against their most important sectors, this will stop their exports of products from mineral fuels to tobacco, wooden timber to iron and steel. 

“We will also extend to Belarus the export restrictions we introduced on dual used goods for Russia. This will also avoid any risk of circumvention of our measures against Russia.”

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Finally, von der Leyen said that the EU will also sanction any other Belarusians who are helping the Russian war effort. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the announcement, adding on social media: “The UK Government must ensure it is being just as tough across the full range of these issues.”