In brief
President Volodymyr Zelensky has told airlines that Russian airspace will effectively close as Ukraine ramps up drone operations. He warns that the skies are ‘completely dangerous’ and calls on carriers and insurers to avoid Russian airports, especially Moscow and St Petersburg. While most Western carriers already steer clear, airlines from China, Turkey and Gulf states still use Russian airspace for fuel savings on Asia‑Europe routes. In response, President Vladimir Putin denounced Zelensky’s remarks as a declaration of state terrorism and pledged continued attacks on Ukraine. The warning comes amid a broadening of Ukrainian strikes into Russian territory and a growing risk to civilian aviation.
Ukraine’s president has warned airlines that Russian airspace will effectively close as Kyiv escalates drone operations. “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,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Tuesday.
Most Western commercial airlines have already stopped flying over Russia because of the ongoing invasion, but carriers in countries such as China continue to use Russian routes for fuel savings. The president’s warning targets those airlines that still operate flights to Russian airports, especially in major cities like St Petersburg and Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by calling Zelensky’s remarks a “declaration of state terrorism,” while insisting that Russia would continue its intensifying attacks on Ukraine.
Zelensky explained the elevated airspace risk: “Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such – not a single civilian aircraft. There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.” He added that “the war started by Russia is closing its skies.”
Ukraine has targeted energy facilities deep inside Russian territory, and aviation‑risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions warned that while most strikes would occur within 300 km of the border, daily attacks deeper into Russian airspace were almost certain to continue this year. The report added that “there is also a realistic possibility that the frequency of Ukrainian strikes will continue to increase in the short term deep inside Russian territory,” and that miscalculation or misidentification in conflict‑related areas is likely.
Speaking to reporters at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said: “They are asking us to resume negotiations... but you don’t negotiate with terrorists.” His comments came as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continued, with heavy strikes killing people and the military preparing for “massive” strikes on Ukrainian power stations.
Putin also acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes had damaged infrastructure inside Russia, emphasizing that “only 10 % of oil refineries are left to repair.” He noted that Russian air defence systems were repelling Ukrainian drones when a commercial airliner was downed over Russian airspace in 2024, killing 38 people.
Chinese, Turkish and Gulf state airlines are among those that still use Russian airspace, benefiting from savings in time and fuel for routes between Asia and Europe, while other carriers have largely avoided the region since February 2022.
Ukraine has had its airspace closed to civilian aircraft since the start of the war. Last year, the UN aviation agency ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014, a tragedy that killed all 298 people on board. The Kremlin has denied any responsibility for the crash.
