MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. The Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport has banned all overflights of Yemen by Russian air carriers, according to a statement.

"Due to events in Yemen causing risks for security of flights, Rosaviatsiya has banned the use of airspace of this country for flights (including transit) by civil aircraft of the Russian Federation," the statement reads.

Earlier on Friday, airlines of Aeroflot Group said that they do not use Yemen’s airspace.

Last night, the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom delivered air strikes on rebel-held positions in several Yemeni cities, using aircraft, warships and submarines. US President Joe Biden said the military action was ordered in response to "unprecedented Houthi attacks" on shipping in the Red Sea and that the strikes were delivered in self-defense. The US Defense Department’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said it has so far struck more than 60 targets at 16 Houthi facilities.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. According to CENTCOM estimates, the Yemeni rebel group has attacked more than 20 vessels and civilian ships in the Red Sea since mid-November.