Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a warning to civilian airlines using Russian airspace, saying that the sky will be so full of Ukrainian drones that their safety cannot be guaranteed.
Zelensky’s message came as Russia intensified its bombardment of Ukraine, where the death toll from strikes is rising as missile interceptor stocks run low. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured in Kyiv on Monday as Russia launched a ballistic missile attack amid a days-long barrage of the Ukrainian capital.
“Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” Zelensky said in an evening address on Tuesday, September 1.
“Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such – not a single civilian aircraft,” the Ukrainian president said, adding, “there will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account”.
While most western commercial airlines no longer fly to Russia or over Russian airspace as a result of the ongoing war, a number of carriers still operate routes to Russia from the Middle East and Asia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Zelensky’s remarks by saying that the threat “amounts to state terrorism”.
The Russian president said that those asking him to resume talks were asking him to “negotiate with terrorists”.
“You don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Putin said.
The threats signal a likely expansion of Ukraine’s air campaign against Russia, which has seen deep strikes targeting energy and logistics facilities in particular in recent months.
“We in Ukraine do not want innocent lives to be lost. That is why we are warning our partners: the safe days in Russia’s skies are over…Drone-infested skies are no place for civilian aviation,” Zelensky said.