Zelenskyy announces campaign to make Russian airspace unsafe

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned airlines and passengers that there are no longer safe moments in Russia’s skies. He said Ukrainian drones would make Russian airspace “completely dangerous” and effectively force it to close.

In an evening address, Ukraine’s president said the warning applied to every airline using Russian airspace, every insurer, and anyone still relying on major Russian airports. He singled out airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, along with other key destinations.

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Russian airspace will effectively be closed.

Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine did not threaten civil aviation or civilian aircraft as such. But, he said, the volume of drones over Russia would create risks that airlines had to consider. Russian authorities, he added, were not informing the public properly about those dangers.

He said Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and other institutions would provide international organizations with full information about the risks to aviation. Zelenskyy also called on ambassadors serving in Ukraine and Moscow to explain to their capitals what Russia’s war meant for their countries and citizens. “There is no place for civil aviation among drones,” he said.

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The Russian skies are becoming completely dangerous.

At the same time, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would take planned meetings in Moscow into account. At the request of international partners, Kyiv was prepared to pause attacks along specified routes and during agreed periods. He said Ukraine had observed a requested pause on attacks toward Moscow and St. Petersburg on Aug. 25, 26 and 27, and would also provide a pause toward Vladivostok if another major power requested one. He said preparations were under way for new meetings in Moscow.

Zelenskyy said on Friday that he had ordered an increase in drone attacks on Russia to as many as 1,000 unmanned aircraft launched each day. Ukrainian strikes have targeted facilities near Russia’s borders and deeper inside the country, including parts of the fuel industry and, since mid-July, logistics centers belonging to companies such as the Wildberries online marketplace, which Ukraine considers legitimate targets.

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There is no place for civil aviation among drones.