Ukraine poses no threat to civil aviation, he said, "but there will be drones in Russia's skies and due notice must be taken".
People watch the smoke rising over a logistics centre in Kolpino, outside Saint Petersburg after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on Aug 23, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Stringer)
02 Sep 2026 03:31PM
(Updated: 02 Sep 2026 03:49PM)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines and insurance companies on Tuesday (Sep 1) that the presence of Ukrainian drones had made Russian skies dangerous to use and that they were effectively closed."Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, everyone who still uses key Russian airports: the Russian sky is becoming completely dangerous," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.Ukraine poses no threat to civil aviation, he said, "but there will be drones in Russia's skies and due notice must be taken"."Although Russian authorities are not properly announcing it, Russian airspace will effectively be closing. The war started by Russia is closing its own skies," Zelenskyy added.
