All flights from Platov International Airport in Russia’s southern city of Rostov have been canceled due to the closure of the southern airspace zone, the airport’s press service said in a statement on Thursday. This reported by TASS.

"The aviation authorities have canceled all flights from Platov Airport due to the ban on the use of the southern airspace zone," the statement reads.

Meanwhile, all flights to and from the airports of Krasnodar, Anapa and Sochi have been suspended until the end of the day, the Aerodinamika company operating the airports said in a statement. "The Russian aviation authorities have decided to temporarily suspend flights to a number of airports in southern Russia, including in Krasnodar, Sochi and Anapa, between 4:27 am on February 24 and midnight on February 25. The flight zone has been found to be unsafe for civilian flights and passengers. The airports strongly recommend that passengers on the nearest flights and those who plan to meet them refrain from arriving at the airports until restrictions are lifted," the statement reads.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories.