Volodymyr Zelensky has urged airlines that still fly through Russian airspace to exercise caution, as Ukraine has stepped up its use of drones against targets deep inside Russia.
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“We want to warn every airline using Russian airspace, every insurer and anyone who still uses Russia’s main airports: the Russian sky is becoming completely dangerous,” the Ukrainian president said during his evening address on Tuesday.
Zelensky stressed that Ukrainian operations are not targeting civil aviation. “Ukraine does not threaten civil aviation as such—not a single civilian aircraft. There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that must be taken into account,” he said.
He added that “the war launched by Russia is closing its skies,” directing the message particularly at airlines that continue to operate flights to airports in major Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Zelensky’s statements as a “declaration of state terrorism” and signaled that Moscow would continue its campaign of attacks against Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said: “They are asking us to resume negotiations… but terrorists are not negotiated with.”
His reaction came as fighting and Russian bombardments of Ukraine continued with intensity. Monday’s heavy attacks killed 12 people, while the Russian military announced that it was preparing “massive” strikes against Ukraine’s power plants and energy infrastructure.
Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks had hit infrastructure on Russian territory, but claimed that only around 10% of oil-refining capacity remained in need of repairs.
