Ukraine-Russia flight ban seen lasting for some time

Airplanes of Ukrainian International Airlines are seen on the tarmac of Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, Ukraine October 24, 2015. Flights between Russia and Ukraine will be terminated on Sunday after the countries exchanged sanctions against their airlines amid a standoff over Moscow's support of separatists in the east of Ukraine. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Direct flights between Russia and Ukraine are unlikely to restart any time soon, people familiar with the matter said on Monday, after links were severed in a tit-for-tat row over Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Direct air services between the one-time allies ceased on Sunday, a new low for commercial relations between the two neighbours, who have been locked in a bitter standoff since a pro-European uprising in Kiev and the annexation by Russia of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014.