Ukraine urges aviation watchdog to back ban on flights in Russian airspace

Ukraine has urged the International ​Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ‌ask its members ​to fully ban operations in Russian airspace, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned it was "becoming completely unsafe". On Tuesday, top ‌Ukrainian officials said the country would step up retaliation against Russia's intensified strikes on Kyiv, which has been under continuous air raid alerts for seven days and has suffered hits on civilian ‌infrastructure.

Ukraine would only target Russian military facilities and not threaten civilian aircraft, Zelenskiy added, ‌but stressed that the growing number of Ukrainian drones in Russian skies should "be taken into account". In the letter to ICAO chairman Juan Carlos Salazar, a copy of which was exclusively shared with Reuters, Ukraine's infrastructure minister ⁠Mykola Kalashnyk ​said Kyiv believed ⁠the risk of tragedies in the skies should be minimised.

Ukraine asked ICAO to encourage aviation authorities and airlines ⁠to safeguard civil aviation, "including by facilitating the full prohibition by ICAO member states of civil aircraft operations within ​the airspace of the Russian Federation". Russian President Vladimir Putin said Zelenskiy's comments amounted ⁠to "state terrorism". Moscow on Wednesday vowed to head off any disruption to civil aviation.

In 2024, 38 people were ⁠killed ​when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane heading to Russia's Grozny crash-landed in Kazakhstan after diverting from its course. Putin later said two Russian missiles detonated near the aircraft after ⁠Ukrainian drones entered the airspace. Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian traffic when Russia launched its full-scale invasion ⁠in February 2022, ⁠unleashing missile barrages without issuing warnings to civilian aircraft in Ukrainian airspace.

Airports have remained closed ever since, and SkyUp, Ukraine's only surviving airline, ‌now operates ‌from neighbouring Moldova.