Two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned civilian airlines of the dangers of using Russian airspace, numerous flight cancellations, airport closures, and other disruptions were reported in the country.Ukraine's increasingly bold drone campaign against Russia has been causing problems like this for some time and it was not clear that anything specific had changed. But Zelenskyy's hint that Kyiv was about to up the ante has raised the question of just how difficult it can make things for Russia.“We are not talking now about the temporary disruption of operations, but about blocking them 24/7. In other words, the strategy is to make these airports unusable,” Valeriy Romanenko, from Ukraine's Museum of Aviation, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.“Such an operation is possible; it is realistic. It would divert a large number of Russian air defense assets, while on our side it would be carried out using small drones,” he added.
'Completely Dangerous'The backdrop to this was Zelenskyy's nightly video address on September 1."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," he said.Following Zelenskyy’s warning, Ukraine formally notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on September 2, warning of what it described as growing risks to civil aviation in Russian airspace.This was underlined by events on September 3.Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport temporarily suspended operations, while the other major airports serving the city, Sheremetyevo and Domededovo, also announced restrictions. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 548 Ukrainian drones flew toward the Moscow region between September 2 and 3.The same day, Russia’s Transport Ministry said it had provided foreign airlines with clarifications on safety measures at Russian airports and in Russian airspace following requests from carriers.Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said Russia was working with the Defense Ministry and National Guard to minimize the impact.“I believe that we will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation,” he said.
