Ukraine threatens to paralyze Russian airports in response to Kremlin’s escalation

Zelenskyy specified that Ukraine has no intention of attacking civilian aircraft. At the same time, he said the growing drone activity over Russian soil introduces more risks for air travel.

“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,” the Ukrainian president said in a Twitter post.

“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. Although the Russian authorities are not properly informing people about this, Russian airspace will effectively be closing — the war started by Russia is closing its skies.”

Zelenskyy’s statement comes days after Russia stepped its attacks on Ukrainian cities, focusing on Kyiv. New jet-powered kamikaze drones have been a near-constant presence over the Ukrainian capital for a week, effectively paralyzing the city in a string of repeated air raid alerts.