President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski did not formally close the airspace over Russia, but called on airlines and insurers to treat Russian skies as de facto closed due to increased drone operations.
What did Zelenski say?
In his evening speech on September 1, 2026, the Ukrainian president declared:
"We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer and everyone that still uses key Russian airports: Russian sky becomes completely dangerous."
He added that Ukraine does not threaten civil aviation and does not attack passenger aircraft. The problem is the scale of unmanned operations:
"It is simply in the Russian sky that there will be drones on such a scale that this must be taken into account. The war launched by Russia closes its own sky."
Background
Western airlines have been flying since 2022, and they hardly fly over Russia. The warning concerns mainly carriers from China, Turkey and the Gulf States who still use Russian airspace and airports in Moscow and Petersburg.
Zelenski announced that the Ukrainian MFA would provide international aviation organisations with information on threats.
Moscow reaction
Vladimir Putin called the words Zelenski "a declaration of state terrorism" and announced that Russia "will find a way to respond".
