Russia reassures foreign airlines after Zelenskiy warns Russian airspace is unsafe

  • Russia’s Transport Ministry briefed foreign airlines on airport and airspace safety measures.
  • Rosaviatsiya said Russian aviation infrastructure continued handling domestic and foreign airline flights normally.
  • Vladimir Putin estimated a 40-day Ukrainian strike campaign caused damage equal to about 1% of GDP.

Russia’s Transport Ministry said it had provided foreign airlines with clarifications about safety measures at Russian airports and in the country’s airspace after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Ukrainian drones had made Russian airspace dangerous and effectively closed. Russia’s aviation regulator, Rosaviatsiya, said Russian air transport and ground infrastructure continued operating normally, including flights by foreign airlines. European and U.S. carriers have largely avoided Russian airspace since the Ukraine war began in 2022, while airlines from China, Turkey and Gulf states continue to use it. Russian President Vladimir Putin separately estimated that a 40-day Ukrainian strike campaign had caused damage equivalent to about 1% of Russia’s gross domestic product, including damage to roughly 100 ships and disruptions to refineries, ports and Black Sea exports. Russia has intensified air attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, with the latest strike killing 12 people and injuring many more. Putin said Russia would respond if Ukraine followed through on a threat to close Russian airspace to commercial aviation through mass drone deployments.

The information on this website is generated using AI and we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Please use it as reference information only.