Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned civil airlines that Russian airspace will be “effectively closed” due to the increase in Ukrainian drone attacks, before emphasizing that it is “absolutely unsafe” because of these operations, within the framework of the war unleashed in February 2022 by the invasion order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“Today we want to warn all airlines that use Russian airspace, all insurers, and everyone who still uses Russia’s main airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” said the Ukrainian leader in a televised message, arguing that “Ukraine does not threaten civil aviation as such.”
“There will simply be drones in the Russian sky on a scale that must be taken into account. Although Russian authorities are not adequately informing the population about this, Russian airspace will be de facto closed: the war started by Russia is closing its sky,” he stated, before stressing that Kyiv “does not want innocent lives to be lost.”
Thus, he insisted on a “warning to partners” that “the days of safety in the Russian sky are over”. “It is important that this reaches the ears of the ambassadors of the countries represented here in Ukraine, as well as the ambassadors working in Moscow,” he explained, while emphasizing that “it is important that airlines currently flying to airports mainly in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other key destinations in Russia are also aware.”
“An airspace infested with drones is no place for civil aviation,” Zelensky reiterated, pointing out that “this escalation cannot and will not be confined to Ukrainian territory.” “It is absolutely natural and fair that the consequences also extend to Russia, including its airspace, which is already and increasingly will be space for our drones and missiles, which actively and justly respond to the Russian war,” he added.
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“We are exercising our right to legitimate defense by attacking Russian military targets and the part of the economy that serves the war effort. This is our defense,” the leader emphasized, highlighting that “Ukraine is a country of peace” and expressing his “true respect” to partners who “want to help end the war.” “We support those efforts,” he assured, before stressing that Kyiv “always supports every step toward peace and every step that prevents Russia from making this war endless.”
In this way, he maintained that “the war has to end” and added that “for the benefit of diplomacy and negotiations, when partners address this issue, it will be ensured that Russian skies are clear of drones for specific periods of time and on specific routes.”
“Safety will return to Russian skies. It will be restored when there is real movement toward peace. For now, Russian skies are for drones, not for civil aviation,” Zelensky warned, recalling that since the beginning of the invasion Moscow “tried to block ports” and caused the closure of Ukrainian airspace to civil aviation.
“We did not choose this war, and certainly did not want this escalation. It is entirely Russia’s desire, of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, to prolong the war and intensify its attacks. It was Russian aggression that turned the skies of Ukraine and Europe, and even of Russia itself, into a dangerous place,” he said. “It was from Russia that the first missiles and the first drones came, and these crossed our country’s border from Russian airspace,” he added.
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