Russia briefs foreign airlines after Zelenskyy warning over airspace safety

Russia’s Transport Ministry has briefed foreign airlines operating flights to the country following a warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia’s airspace could become unsafe amid continued drone attacks, Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said on Thursday, September 3.

“Colleagues contacted us for clarification, and we provided all the necessary explanations. This is an absolutely illegal demand, and the vast majority, the absolute majority, of companies that fly to Russia work with us in very close coordination and understand all our rules and standards, as well as how we monitor flight safety,” Nikitin told reporters on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

Zelensky warned airlines on Wednesday that Russian airspace “is becoming unsafe”, arguing that “drones in Russia’s skies will appear in such a way that this will have to be taken into account”.

The Ukrainian president said Kyiv was not seeking to threaten civilian aviation directly, but claimed that the continued use of Ukrainian drones would effectively force the closure of Russian airspace.

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine “is not threatening civil aviation as such”, but because of Ukrainian drone attacks, “Russian airspace will de facto be closed”.

By Tamilla Hasanova