The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that officials sent a protest note to the head of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), urging him to “condemn the illegal interference of the Ukrainian regime in civil aviation and the direct threats posed to it.”
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The statement called Ukraine’s claims “reckless terrorist acts contrary to international law.”
On Tuesday, the President of Ukraine warned that due to Kyiv, the drone sky over Russia is becoming “extremely dangerous.”
“We do not want innocent people to die. Therefore, we warn our partners: safe times in Russian skies are over,” said V. Zelensky, noting that although civilian flights are not targeted, there is “no place” for them in a sky “teeming with drones.”
The Ukrainian leader called this a justified response to “Russia’s desire to continue the war by carrying out terror against civilians.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin called the warning “terrorism.”
Russia’s large-scale war in Ukraine has been ongoing for five and a half years, and Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since 2022.
ICAO, based in Montreal, after V. Zelensky’s statement, urged its members to ensure the safety of civil aircraft.
“Ukraine does not pose a threat to civil aviation – not a single civil aircraft,” said V. Zelensky. “There will simply be drones in Russian airspace on a scale that must be taken into account.”
Kyiv has been allowing drones into Russia for more than four years, retaliating for Moscow’s daily attacks on Ukrainian cities.
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