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What the Ryanair diversion set in motion
Summary
A look back at how the West reacted to the forced landing of Ryanair Flight 4978, and at a Eurovision result for Ukraine.
What did the diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978 mean for Belarus and its neighbours? By 28 May 2021, the answer was already taking shape in the responses of Western institutions.
On 23 May 2021, NATO demanded an international investigation into Belarus's diversion of the flight. The demand put the matter on a multilateral footing from the start, rather than leaving it as a bilateral dispute.
On 24 May 2021, the European Union went further. It banned all Belarusian airlines from using its airports and airspace in response to what it called a hijacking. It also placed sanctions on the officials believed to be involved in the operation. The measures hit both the national aviation sector and named individuals.
The sequence is instructive. Within two days of the incident, one alliance had set out a call for an investigation and the EU had adopted concrete penalties. The EU's wording, describing the diversion as a hijacking, left little ambiguity about how it viewed the act.
For Ukraine and the wider region, the episode sat alongside a lighter moment. On 22 May 2021, at the 65th Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the band Go_A placed fifth for Ukraine.
The two stories are unrelated, but together they mark a busy week for the region's public attention. One was a diplomatic confrontation with immediate sanctions. The other was a cultural result that Ukraine could celebrate.
