Montreal: Ukraine has urged the United Nations aviation agency to advocate for a complete ban on flights through Russian airspace, following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s warning about emerging safety threats. Kyiv plans to intensify its retaliation against increased Russian strikes but insists its targets will be exclusively military facilities, Zelensky stated, highlighting an increase in Ukrainian drone activities over Russia.
According to France24.com, Ukraine’s call for action comes in the wake of continuous air raid alerts in Kyiv, with the city under siege for a week and experiencing attacks on civilian infrastructure. In a letter to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Chairman Juan Carlos Salazar, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk conveyed the urgent need for measures to minimize aviation risks, advocating a full prohibition of civil aircraft operations over Russian airspace by ICAO member states.
While European and U.S. carriers have avoided Russian airspace since the onset of the conflict in 2022, airlines from countries such as China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states still use these routes. ICAO, although unable to enforce rules on its 193 member countries, plays a pivotal role in shaping national aviation policies through consensus-driven standards.
In a recent statement, ICAO highlighted the increasing risk of commercial planes being caught in conflict zones and called for stronger international commitments to safeguard civil aviation. The aviation risk advisory firm, Osprey Flight Solutions, noted that Ukraine’s drone and missile operations have already affected Russian airspace, causing airport closures and flight disruptions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Zelensky’s concerns as “state terrorism,” and Moscow has pledged to prevent any interference with civil aviation. The historical context of aviation risks in the region was underscored by a 2024 incident in which an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed after diverting its course due to nearby missile detonations, linked to Ukrainian drone activities.
Ukraine has kept its airspace closed to civilian flights since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, with Ukrainian airports remaining shuttered. The country’s only remaining airline, SkyUp, now operates out of neighboring Moldova.