Zelenskyy warns 'safe days in Russian skies are over'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a stark warning to international airlines, insurers, and passengers on Tuesday, stating that Russian airspace is becoming "completely unsafe" and filled with Ukrainian drones for the duration of the war. In his evening address on 1 September, he said that "Russian airspace will effectively be closing" and that "the safe days in Russia's skies are over."
"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," Zelenskyy said, as quoted in reports. He added: "There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account."
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation.
"Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such - not a single civilian aircraft," he said, according to com. "There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account."
He attributed the deteriorating safety to the operational reality of unmanned aerial vehicles active over Russian territory, noting that Russian authorities have not properly reported these hazards. "Although the Russian authorities do not report this as they should, the Russian sky will de facto be closed: the war unleashed by Russia is closing its sky," he said, as reported by UNITED24 Media.
Context: Ukrainian drone operations and Russian airspace
Zelenskyy's warning came after almost a week of sustained Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, with Moscow relying on jet-powered drones launched in repeated waves, according to com. Kyiv and its surrounding region have been main targets, with repeated air-raid alerts disrupting daily life. Officials in Kyiv said Russia was deploying jet-powered drones alongside ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian president noted that Kyiv's long-range operations have targeted military facilities, airfields, missile units, oil refineries, and other energy facilities. He said that the scale of Ukrainian UAV activity would render Russian airspace unsafe for civilian aviation.
Ukraine's airspace has been closed to civilian aviation since 24 February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Russian civilian aviation, by contrast, has continued operating throughout the war, despite increasingly frequent disruptions and temporary airport closures during Ukrainian drone attacks, as reported by com.
In May 2026, Russia announced plans to impose sweeping restrictions on civilian aviation over the Moscow region, effectively closing much of the airspace for flights operating below 5,100 meters. The Interregional Public Organization of Pilots and Aircraft Owners (AOPA) reported that these measures created a restricted zone extending toward the Belarusian border, St. Petersburg, and the Yekaterinburg region. Scheduled commercial passenger and medical evacuation flights were granted exemptions. The restrictions were a direct response to a massive drone operation, during which nearly 600 drones targeted Russian military-industrial and fuel infrastructure, according to UNITED24 Media.
International calls and implications
Zelenskyy's warning was directed not only at Moscow but at airlines, insurers, and foreign governments whose carriers continue to fly through Russian airspace and serve airports in Moscow, St Petersburg, and other major cities. He called on foreign ambassadors in both Kyiv and Moscow to relay the message to their governments. Ukraine's foreign ministry and other agencies would provide international organisations with full information about the dangers in Russian airspace, according to com.
The warning underscores the growing reach of Ukraine's drone campaign and its potential impact on international civil aviation. Zelenskyy concluded: "Drone-infested skies are no place for civilian aviation."