President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)Ukraine wants to close Russia's skies and has a plan to do it.In an announcement on Sept. 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave few details about what it would entail, other than making clear it would involve lots of drones."There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he said, as he warned "every airline that uses Russian airspace" against flying over the country."The Russian sky will be de facto closed," he added.The following day, the president said that some airlines had already stopped service to Russia. "We have received information that the first airlines began to refuse flights to Russian airports after our announcement about the drone danger, which objectively exists in the skies of Russia," Zelensky said in his evening address Sept. 2. "This is a correct, completely logical response to the available facts ... We must protect lives. Ukraine has already officially informed international organizations and partners about the true state of Russian skies."Zelensky's announcement comes at a time when, in the absence of meaningful changes on the front lines, both Ukraine and Russia are looking for other ways to increase pressure on each other.For Russia, this has meant a drastic escalation in drone and missile strikes, particularly on Kyiv.For Ukraine, lacking the long-range missile firepower of Russia, it means becoming more creative with long-range drones.