Zelensky says airlines should avoid Russian airspace as Ukraine escalates drone operations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued an explicit warning to global airlines and underwriters on Tuesday, declaring that Russian airspace is becoming "completely unsafe" as Kyiv significantly escalates its long-range drone campaign deeper into Russian territory.

Speaking during his nightly video address - and repeating the declaration in a public message posted to X - the Ukrainian leader signaled that months of intensifying cross-border aerial operations have fundamentally altered safety risks over the world’s largest nation by landmass.

Zelensky emphasized that Ukrainian defense forces are not intentionally targeting civilian aircraft.

However, he argued that the sheer volume of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles deployed across Russian skies daily creates an operational environment where international carriers can no longer guarantee safe transit.

"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.

He added that although Moscow has avoided formal declarations, the ongoing conflict is effectively shutting down the country's skies to commercial traffic.

The warning carries major implications for international civil aviation.

While American and European carriers have avoided Russian transit routes since the outset of the full-scale invasion, dozens of major airlines based in Asia, the Middle East, and South America—including operators from China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates—have continued using trans-Siberian flight corridors to save time and fuel costs.

Aviation safety analysts note that high concentrations of low-altitude drones coupled with hyper-active air defense systems create severe risks of signal jamming, misidentification, and mid-air collisions near primary transportation hubs.

Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov welcomed Zelensky's announcement and condemned Russia's attacks, saying that "Ukraine will deliver a firm and proportionate response."

Zelensky also addressed ambassadors serving in Kyiv and Moscow, urging them to warn their governments as well as airlines serving destinations in Russia.

Ukrainian authorities would provide international bodies with full information about the hazards, according to Zelensky.

Kyiv will work with partners traveling to Russia, with Ukraine open to pausing strikes to ensure safe passage, as it did for CIA Director John Ratcliffe's trip to Moscow on Aug. 25, Zelensky said.

"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," he said.

Drone attacks on Russian cities, including Moscow, have been recorded on several instances and often prompted temporary airport closures. Most recently, Ukrainian drones struck the Novatek-Ust-Luga complex at Russia's Baltic Sea port in Leningrad Oblast early on Sept. 1, Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed.