Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned airlines, insurers and aviation operators that Russian airspace is becoming increasingly dangerous as Kyiv steps up drone strikes deep inside Russian territory.
Zelensky, in his nightly video address on Tuesday, urged airlines still operating through major Russian airports to prepare for a significant increase in drone activity across the country.
“We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, everyone who still uses key Russian airports: the Russian sky is becoming completely dangerous,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader stressed that Kyiv was not targeting civilian aircraft, saying Ukraine had no intention of threatening civilian aviation or causing loss of innocent lives.
“Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such — not a single civilian aircraft,” Zelensky said.
He added that the increased aviation risk would stem from the scale of drone operations expected across Russian territory.
“There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account,” he said.
His warning was directed particularly at airlines continuing to operate flights to major Russian airports, including those serving Moscow and St Petersburg.
Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone campaign against targets inside Russia, with strikes reported against energy infrastructure and facilities linked to major online retailers, including Wildberries and Ozon.
The attacks have also repeatedly disrupted operations at some of Russia’s busiest airports. In Moscow, drone alerts have at times prompted all four major airports to suspend arrivals and departures, with additional cancellations reported on Wednesday.
Ukraine does not necessarily have to strike airports directly to disrupt civilian aviation. Under Russia’s “Kovyor”, or “carpet”, air-defence protocol, flight operations are suspended when a drone is detected in the affected area.
Aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions warned that while most Ukrainian drone and missile strikes were expected to occur within about 300 kilometres of the Russia-Ukraine border, deeper strikes inside Russia were likely to continue.
The firm said there was also a realistic possibility that the frequency of Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory would increase in the short term, potentially raising the risk of miscalculation or misidentification.
Responding to Zelensky’s warning, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian leader of effectively declaring “state terrorism”.
Speaking to reporters at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said Moscow would continue its military operations against Ukraine.
“They are asking us to resume negotiations… but you don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Putin said.
His remarks came as Russian attacks on Ukraine continued, with heavy strikes reportedly killing 12 people on Tuesday and further attacks reported in Odesa, Sumy and Kyiv on Wednesday.
Russia’s military has also said it is preparing “massive” strikes against Ukrainian power infrastructure.
Kyiv and the surrounding region have come under attack for seven consecutive days, underscoring the continued escalation of the conflict and the growing risk to civilian infrastructure and transportation.
