Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines to avoid Russian airspace as he threatened to respond to Moscow’s escalating missile attacks by crowding its skies with drones.
“Russian airspace will effectively be closing,” Zelenskyy posted on X late on Tuesday. “There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.”
The warning came after Russia’s deadly bombing of Kyiv and the surrounding region extended into the sixth straight night as Ukraine struggles with a shortage of US-made Patriot air defense missiles, with nearly round-the-clock air raid alarms adding to the disruption of daily life.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine won’t threaten civilian aircraft. But he warned airlines, insurers and others using Russian airspace and major airports, including those in Moscow and St. Petersburg, that flying there was becoming increasingly unsafe.
Ukraine has been unable to maintain civilian air traffic since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion more than four and a half years ago. Russia, by contrast, continues to operate domestic and some international flights, with air travel particularly important for connecting a country spanning 11 time zones.
The planned drone campaign would build on Kyiv’s attempt to take the war to Russia with strikes on refineries, ports and most recently warehouses of the main online retailers.
Zelenskyy said he was aware of his country’s partners planning a new round of talks in Moscow, according to a separate video statement published on Telegram. Ukraine will be ready, at allies’ request, to clear parts of Russian sky of drones for periods of time to make peace talks possible, he said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had honored a US request to pause strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg in late August to allow for a rare visit in Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. He also said Kyiv had suspended attacks around Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East at the request of another country, which he didn’t identify.
US-brokered peace talks with Russia have failed to produce any tangible progress since President Donald Trump returned to the White House with a promise to swiftly end the fighting.
Instead, Kyiv and Moscow have stepped up aerial attacks, targeting each other’s energy infrastructure and logistics networks.
Zelenskyy said on Monday he had “a detailed and constructive conversation” with Trump’s two special envoys — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — and said they were now talking about “locking in dates” for the pair’s visit in Kyiv. The trip has been repeatedly touted by the Ukrainian president in recent months, but had yet to take place.
Witkoff has traveled to Moscow eight times and met President Vladimir Putin for talks on several occassions.
“Now, new meetings are planned in Moscow,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. “We will take this into account.”
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