Ukraine said Wednesday it had formally notified the International Civil Aviation Organisation that Russian airspace was “not safe”, following an increase in long-range Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
The ICAO, a United Nations agency which regulates and establishes standards for civil aviation, made no immediate public comment.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has launched retaliatory drone strikes on targets inside Russia, hitting energy and military infrastructure hundreds of kilometres from the front line.
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The strikes come at a time when Moscow has launched waves of deadly drone and missile barrages at Ukrainian towns and cities each night.
“Against the backdrop of Russia’s drastic escalation of terror against Ukraine, Russian airspace is becoming increasingly unsafe,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on X.
“We urge everyone to avoid it… Russia has been deliberately ignoring the existing threats as a result of its aggression against Ukraine, which has already led to several incidents in the past years,” he said.
Russia’s aviation watchdog regularly closes airports in response to the Ukrainian drones.
In 2024, Russian air defences accidentally downed an Azerbaijani passenger jet during what Moscow said was a Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since Russia’s invasion.
