In a reciprocal move, the Zambian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has suspended all Kenya Airways flights into Lusaka following a decision by the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to deny Zambia Airways access to Nairobi.

The tit-for-tat move was announced in a letter dated October 2, signed by CAA Director General, Captain, Derrick Luembe, stating that the suspension would take effect at 21:59 Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) from Tuesday, October 8.

Explaining the rationale behind the suspension, Luembe said that Zambia Airways, through the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, had applied for scheduled flights from Lusaka to Nairobi and while the KCAA initially granted Zambia Airways a Foreign Operators Permit, authorization to operate flights into Nairobi using a wet-leased Boeing 737-700 was refused.

“The Zambian CAA appealed to the KCAA to reconsider their decision and allow Zambia Airways (2014) Limited to fly into Nairobi with the wet-leased B737-700 aircraft,” Luembe said.

He noted that the KCAA, however, maintained its position of denying authorization as efforts by the Zambian government to resolve the issue diplomatically also failed.

Luembe also stated that the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had engaged the Kenyan authorities on several occasions, including a meeting with the Kenyan Acting High Commissioner to Zambia on September 12, and despite submitting all necessary documentation, Zambia received no response.

“Given the lack of reciprocity and the ongoing refusal to grant Zambia Airways access to Nairobi, I regret to inform you that all Kenya Airways flights into Zambia are hereby suspended,” the letter added, emphasizing that the suspension would remain in place until further notice, as Zambia seeks a resolution to the matter.

There is a brewing tension between Russia and Ukraine as both countries have been exchanging statements over allegations of interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs during the nationwide hunger protests in August and October.

The Russian government, in a statement released on Friday, distanced itself from the October 1st protest in Nigeria, rather blaming the USA and the UK for trying to destroy its relationship with Nigeria by linking the country with the unrest.

The Russian embassy however, dismissed the accusations as baseless, reiterating that the country had no involvement in the protests.

In the statement issued by the Russian Press Secretary, Yury Paramonov, the government rejected claims made by certain Western and Ukrainian media outlets that Russia was behind the unrest in Nigeria.

While issuing a stern warning to western countries not to drag Russia into their propaganda, Paramonov said the countries should rather be blamed for attempting to interfere in Nigeria’s internal affairs and undermine its bilateral relations with Russia.

The warning is coming following concerns that Russia was fully involved in the August hunger protests where its national flags were displayed by some of the protesters in some states that in northern Nigeria, raising concerns of foreign interference.

“I would like to share with you our note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, which we sent at the end of September when there were rumors of potential unrest in Nigeria, and the embassies of the USA, the UK, and Ukraine were prematurely trying to blame Russia for it. As expected, all these claims turned out to be fabrications and attempts to create discord between the friendly peoples of Russia and Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Federal Republic of Nigeria has taken note of the media reports circulating about possible protests in Nigeria at the beginning of October this year.

“The embassy is also dismayed by the fact that certain Western and Ukrainian media outlets are attempting to preemptively accuse Russia of involvement in, or even organising such unrest.

“In particular, statements by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Director of the British Council in Nigeria David Roberts, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Nigeria Ivan Kholostenko have shamelessly and baselessly suggested that the use of Russian flags during recent protests is evidence of Russia’s interference and have further warned that this could happen again in the future.

“The embassy categorically rejects such accusations and reiterates that the Russian Federation neither had any involvement in the protests that occurred in the recent past, nor does it have any connection to any potential future demonstrations or unrest.

“Russia has always respected the sovereignty of Nigeria. We strictly adhere to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of independent states.

‘By contrast, the coordinated media campaign by Western and Ukrainian officials and outlets clearly points to their attempts to meddle in Nigeria’s internal affairs and shift the blame for any consequences onto the Russian Federation.

“We greatly value the relations between our two countries, support only peaceful dialogue within the legal framework as the proper means to resolve any internal disputes, and once again express our unwavering support for the leadership and the people of Nigeria.”

But in a swift response to the Russian warning, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Ivan Kholostenko, also issued a statement, condemning the Russian regime and its actions on the global stage.

“Ukraine knows perfectly well what the Russian regime is. And we would like to refer to the truthful facts,” the Ambassador said.

“The truth is that the Russian army commits awful and numerous war crimes and atrocities in the territory of Ukraine every day. Russians kill, rape and torture civilians, including women and children,” Kholostenko said.

He further accused Russia of deliberately sabotaging international food security by withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and targeting Ukrainian grain exports.

Kholostenko further cited the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued in March 2023 for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories, as evidence of Russia’s disregard for international law.

“All these atrocities and war crimes have been and still are being committed under Russian flags,” Kholostenko said.