Russia Says It Won’t Let Ukraine Disrupt Air Travel After Zelensky Warning
Ukraine poses no threat to civil aviation, Zelensky said, "but there will be drones in Russia's skies and due notice must be taken."
Russian transportation authorities have pledged to thwart any disruptions to domestic air travel following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's warning that Kyiv's drone attacks have rendered Russian airspace too perilous for flight. Transportation Minister Andrei Nikitin stated that civil aviation authorities are continuously refining flight safety and airport security standards, assuring that solutions exist to address the situation.
Collaboration with the Defense Ministry and the Russian National Guard is underway, with Nikitin expressing confidence that Russian civil aviation will remain unscathed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha communicated the country's official notification to the International Civil Aviation Organization regarding the unsafety of Russian airspace for commercial flights. This announcement appears to have triggered immediate consequences, with Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport recording 21 flight cancellations and 235 delays, while Vnukovo airport reported 22 cancellations and 94 delays, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Some Turkish airline Pegasus Airlines has opted to cancel certain flights to Russia due to technical and operational concerns, though the company has not provided additional details. Vnukovo airport disclosed that Pegasus Airlines had canceled six inbound and six outbound flights on Tuesday, with other ongoing flights proceeding as usual.
Aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions issued an alert to its clientele, warning that while most Ukrainian drone and missile strikes are likely to occur within a 300-kilometer radius of the border, attacks deeper inside Russia are imminent through 2026, including near Moscow and St Petersburg. The alert suggests a realistic possibility of increased frequency of Ukrainian strikes within Russian borders in the near term.
Written by urgent.news from The Moscow Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
