Ukraine wants Europe to step into the diplomatic vacuum left by stalled US-led peace negotiations with Russia, and it’s starting with a surprisingly specific ask: stop bombing each other’s airports.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha floated the idea during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, proposing a mutual halt to attacks on airports in both countries.
A small ask with big strategic math behind it
The proposal is deliberately narrow, and that’s the point. By focusing exclusively on airports, Sybiha is offering European leaders something they can actually sink their teeth into, a concrete, achievable objective rather than the kind of sweeping peace framework that has repeatedly gone nowhere.
Ukraine has been hitting Russian airports, including major hubs like Sheremetyevo and Pulkovo, with long-range drone strikes. Those attacks have exposed a genuine vulnerability in Russia’s infrastructure, giving Kyiv a bargaining chip it didn’t have earlier in the conflict.
