Zelensky Threatens Drone Strikes, Putin Retorts: ‘If Someone Tries to Swallow Us, They Will Get Bitten’

Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines using Russian airspace that the routes had become too dangerous to operate, saying Russia’s skies would be “de facto closed” because of Ukrainian drones.

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Today we want to warn every airline using Russian airspace, every insurer and everyone still using key Russian airports: Russian skies are becoming completely dangerous.

In a Telegram post, the Ukrainian president addressed airlines flying to Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major Russian hubs, as well as insurers and foreign governments. He said Ukraine was not threatening civil aviation, but operators needed to account for the danger created by drones in Russian airspace.

“Today we want to warn every airline using Russian airspace, every insurer and everyone still using key Russian airports: Russian skies are becoming completely dangerous,” Zelenskyy said. He added that Russian authorities were not reporting the situation as they should, but that the airspace would nevertheless become effectively closed.

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Although the Russian authorities are not reporting it as they should, Russian skies will be de facto closed.

Vladimir Putin responded after a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek. He accused Kyiv of announcing “state terrorism” and said Russia would find a way to respond if Ukraine carried out its threat to close the skies over Russia. “Terrorists are not negotiated with,” Putin said. He added: “If someone tries to pull us down the food chain and swallow us, eat us, they may get bitten.”

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If someone tries to pull us down the food chain and swallow us, eat us, they may get bitten.

Putin also said Russia’s armed forces had received instructions to prepare and carry out mass attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine, presenting them as a response to Ukrainian strikes. Zelenskyy linked the aviation danger to Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has kept Ukrainian airspace closed to civil aviation since February 2022. He cited Russian attacks on Sept. 1 that killed 12 people and injured 21 in Kyiv and Kyiv region, and said Ukrainian authorities would provide international institutions with detailed information about the risks.

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The Russian armed forces have been instructed to prepare and carry out mass attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine. They strike ours, they will get a response.