Ukraine proposes mutual halt on airport strikes with Russia

Ukraine is calling on Europe to take a more active role in reviving stalled peace efforts with Russia, advancing a limited initial step focused on a mutual halt to strikes on each side’s airports.

The proposal, put forward by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, is intended to give European capitals a more defined diplomatic function as US-mediated discussions between Moscow and Kyiv lose momentum, while Russian President Vladimir Putin shows little willingness to engage in a wider agreement to end the conflict.

"We probably need a new role of Europe in our peace efforts," Sybiha told POLITICO on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. "Maybe we would try to resolve or to achieve a so-called airport ceasefire."

The concept centres on a narrow arrangement between Moscow and Kyiv not to target airports. Sybiha suggested that Russia could see value in such an understanding, given that key infrastructure — including Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport and St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport — is increasingly exposed to Ukrainian long-range strikes.

"Maybe our European allies, by establishing a platform, or maybe an ad hoc group, we could discuss [the airport ceasefire]," he said, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already discussed the idea with some European leaders.

By Jeyhun Aghazada