Ryanair has announced that all flights to and from Ukraine have been suspended for at least the next 14 days following the Russian invasion of the country.

The Irish airline, which is one of the largest carriers operating in Ukraine, added that all Ukrainian flights have been removed from sale for at least the next four weeks.

Ryanair said it remains committed to services in Ukraine and that it looks forward to restoring flight as soon as it is safe to do so.

"All affected passengers will receive email notices later this morning and all flights to/from Ukraine have been removed from sale for at least next four weeks until further information becomes available from EU safety agencies," Ryanair said in a statement.

"We sincerely regret and apologise for these unprecedented disruptions and any inconvenience that they will inevitably cause to our Ukrainian customers."

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Earlier this month, Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary said the company had "a duty" to continue flying passengers in and out of Ukraine as long as Russia held back from invading.

"Is it our duty and obligation to support the people of Ukraine as long as there is no war or missiles flying there," O'Leary said. "It is important not to panic."

"People need to get home and people want to leave and fly abroad to the EU -- airlines have to provide that service," he stated.

Ryanair said in January that it could base up to 20 planes in Ukraine in the coming years, provided Russia did not invade, and announced plans to make 230 flights from three Ukrainian airports this summer.

Shares in Ryanair have rebounded after a significant drop in value in the early hours of trading in Dublin on Thursday, but remain about 3 percentage points down for the day.

The budget airline reported a €96m loss in its third quarter as the Omicron wave "severely damaged" passenger bookings over the peak Christmas and New Year period.

Ryanair's decision comes after Russia invaded Ukraine overnight, making airstrikes on several major cities and sending in troops that had been gathering on the southern and eastern borders for several weeks into the country.

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