KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a direct warning to commercial airlines Tuesday, telling carriers, insurers and airport operators that Russian airspace can no longer be treated as safe. The warning came as Ukraine's drone campaign over Russian territory expanded in scale and frequency.
"Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia's key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe," Zelenskyy said. He added that Ukraine was not threatening civilian aircraft directly but that drones would be present in Russian skies in numbers large enough to constitute an operational hazard.
"Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such — not a single civilian aircraft," Zelenskyy said. "There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account."
Vladimir Putin characterized the remarks as "a declaration of state terrorism," framing Zelenskyy's warning as an act of aggression against civilian infrastructure rather than a military statement.
The warnings came on day 1,652 of the war, as Russia launched a large-scale bombardment of Kyiv and its surrounding area. At least 12 people died in the strikes and a dozen were wounded, including three children. Russia has begun deliberately targeting Ukraine's railway network. Six Ukrzaliznytsia employees were killed Tuesday when a ballistic missile struck a locomotive depot. The state railway company confirmed the strike on the depot and said other rail facilities were hit during the same bombardment.
Ukraine's railway has served as a central logistical artery throughout the war, moving millions of civilians and serving as the route by which world leaders — including former U.S. President Joe Biden — traveled to Kyiv for wartime visits.
The German government separately attributed a drone attack at Leipzig airport to the Russian state, saying it had solid evidence that Russian intelligence provided knowledge and equipment to operatives on the ground to target a Ukrainian cargo plane. The attack failed. Berlin announced punitive measures: Russia's consulate in Bonn will be closed, and Russian House — a Berlin institution described officially as a cultural and science institute — will be evicted after German authorities said it functioned as a base for hybrid operations and espionage. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said new blacklists of Russian nationals would be drawn up, border controls on Russians entering Germany would be tightened and a crackdown on Russia's shadow fleet operations in German waters is planned. The European Union is preparing to expand its sanctions package against Russia in parallel.
Cracks are appearing in Russia's wartime financial posture. Boris Titov, Vladimir Putin's international development envoy, told Russian business outlet RBC that the Russian economy risks going "berserk." "This is not an economy at all, it's a kind of 'berserk mode' that can only exist for a very limited time, and the necessity of which should be considered very carefully," Titov said. The remarks align with comments from Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who has argued that "killing a normal economy is equivalent to killing the whole country."
Andrei Klepach, chief economist at Russia's state development bank, lost his position last month after delivering a public speech highlighting the economic strain the war is imposing on Russia's finances. His dismissal came shortly after his remarks drew public attention.
Zelenskyy's aviation warning carries weight beyond rhetoric. Several international carriers have avoided Russian airspace since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 following Western sanctions, but some Asian and Middle Eastern airlines have continued to use the corridor, which cuts significant time off routes between Europe and Asia. If insurers act on Zelenskyy's warning and adjust risk ratings for Russian airspace, carriers that still use those routes face higher costs or route changes regardless of their own assessments.
Kyiv has framed the drone campaign as a response to Russia's continued strikes on civilian infrastructure inside Ukraine. Zelenskyy said the targets inside Russia are military facilities that support the war effort, a characterization Russia disputes. Putin's terrorism designation is consistent with Moscow's long-standing position that Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil constitute attacks on a sovereign state rather than acts of legitimate military self-defense.
