President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned airlines, insurers, and everyone who uses key Russian airports that Russian airspace is actually becoming dangerous for civil aviation due to the activity of Ukrainian drones.
He said this in an address on September 1.
"Ukraine does not threaten civil aviation as such, any civilian aircraft. Itʼs just that drones will be in the sky of Russia in such a way that we need to take this into account. Although the Russian authorities are not reporting this as they should, the Russian sky will de facto be closed: the war unleashed by Russia is closing its sky," Zelensky stressed.
He called on ambassadors to convey this information to their capitals, and on airlines to consider the risks of flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other Russian cities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and relevant institutions will provide international organizations with complete information about the risks in Russian skies.
"Civil aviation has no place among drones. But Ukraine is a country of peace. And we truly respect the fact that our partners want to help end this war. And we support every such attempt," the president added.
In particular, according to Zelensky, at the request of the United States, Ukraine did not strike Moscow and St. Petersburg on August 25-27 (it was then that the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, was visiting Russia). The president also added that Ukraine is ready to observe a pause "in the direction of Vladivostok" if another state makes such a request.
"New meetings are being prepared in Moscow now — we will take this into account. We always support every step towards peace, to ensure that Russia does not make this war endless. We need an end to the war, and the leaders are right to tell Putin this. Therefore, for the sake of diplomacy, for the sake of negotiations — when our partners turn to us about this — we will ensure that the Russian sky is cleared of drones for certain periods of time and in certain directions," Zelensky emphasized.
He separately added that security will return to Russiaʼs skies when a real movement towards peace begins. And now, "the skies over Russia are for drones, not for civil aviation".
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