(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned airlines and countries using Russian airspace of the growing danger of flying there during wartime, as Russia intensifies its strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine will ensure safe passage for civilian aircraft on specified routes and at specified times if requested by partners, but stressed that safety in Russian skies is coming to an end.
“This escalation cannot and will not remain confined to the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “It is entirely natural and fair that its consequences will also be felt in Russia, including in Russian skies, which are already becoming and will increasingly become an area of operation for our drones and our missiles.”
The warning came as European foreign ministers gathered in Ireland on Wednesday for an informal meeting. The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine will be one of the topics on their agenda.
“It is clear that we need to coordinate what more can we do in this situation where Russia is escalating and really killing the civilians and causing as much harm as they can,” Kallas said. “So the discussions how we can actually put more pressure on Russia so that they would end this war.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine does not want innocent lives to be lost, which is why Kyiv is warning partners that safe conditions in Russian airspace are coming to an end.
“It is important that the relevant airlines currently flying to airports in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other key destinations in Russia hear this as well,” he said.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ukrainian institutions will provide international organisations with full information about the dangers in Russian airspace, Zelenskyy added.
“Civilian aviation has no place among drones,” he said. “For the sake of diplomacy and negotiations, whenever our partners approach us with such requests, we will ensure that the Russian skies are cleared of drones for specified periods of time and in specified directions.”
Zelenskyy said safety will return to Russian skies only “when there is genuine movement toward peace”.
Kyiv Suffers Sixth Consecutive Day of Strikes
At least 12 people were killed and two dozen wounded in Kyiv on Monday night into Tuesday as Moscow continued its campaign of drone and missile strikes against the Ukrainian capital for the sixth day in a row.
At least six of those killed were Ukrainian railway workers at a depot in Kyiv when it was hit by a ballistic missile. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched more than 218 drones into Ukrainian territory, at least a third of which were jet powered drones, significantly harder for air defence systems to intercept. Russia also launched further ballistic and cruise missile strikes targeting the capital.
One resident said two missiles landed approximately 200 metres from her home in the last two weeks.
“The bombings happened really near my house,” she said. “In the morning, your thoughts are dreadful when you read the news and see that many people were hurt, that buildings were damaged, that people were left without homes, that people are left without friends, without loved ones. It is actually really hard.”
Another resident described witnessing a Shahed drone being shot down in the Obolon district. “I heard a grandmother of a child who died screaming,” the resident said. “Today, I took my child to the first day of school. Many of my acquaintances have left with their children.”
President Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he expects the strikes to continue at least until the State Duma elections in Russia.
Zelenskyy said Russia always plans its strikes to cause maximum destruction to people’s lives, and that it succeeds only when there are not enough air defence systems. He again pleaded with international partners for more support in the field of air defence.
German Sabotage Incidents
Homemade explosive devices were found and neutralised on Tuesday at a German power plant close to the Polish border. Several improvised explosive devices were found at the scene, some of which had not been detonated, with bomb disposal experts deployed to the site.
The Janschwalde power station lies barely eight kilometres from the border with Poland. The incident occurred on the same day Poles were commemorating the 87th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced Russia was behind last month’s drone attack on Leipzig Airport.
“A comprehensive assessment of the attempted attack fits into the known pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe,” Faeser said. “Taken together, police investigations, the modus operandi and intelligence findings confirm Russian responsibility for the attempted attack at Leipzig airport.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock added Germany will close the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian cultural centre in Berlin in response.
European leaders expressed support for Germany, with the President of the European Commission announcing additional sanctions on Russia to be discussed at the foreign ministers’ summit in Ireland.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave a poignant speech at the Second World War commemoration, saying: “When Germany invaded Poland, allies did nothing. Now unity is needed to face the threats from Russia.”
Tusk added: “Germany, France, Italy, or Spain, every nation and every leader of the free world should understand without exception that in the face of evil, no one can stand alone.”
Poland experienced two suspected sabotage attacks this week, one on a drone factory and another on a warehouse storing aviation components.
Security analyst Michael Clarke said: “Certainly the Russians are sophisticated enough to use timing as a wedge, as a cudgel, as a sort of implied threat that this is systemic. We in the west tend to use terms like grey zone warfare. We tend to use euphemisms rather than calling what it is. It is going beyond grey zone.”
The latest incident in Germany has taken the number of suspected hybrid attacks in Europe in the past seven days to at least five.
Police are also responding to an explosion at Augsburg’s main train station after an explosive device detonated in a passageway at around 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning, wounding two people.
Palantir Investment in Ukraine
Alex Karp, the chief executive of US software giant Palantir, is set to become the first major investor in former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s new defence technology company.
In a video posted on Fedorov’s Telegram showing the two men standing beside each other, Karp said he has worked with Fedorov for half a decade, adding that a company combining Fedorov’s knowledge and acumen of modern warfare will be defining for the world.
The announcement comes less than two months after Fedorov was ousted as Ukraine’s defence minister. Renowned for his technology driven approach to warfare, his dismissal sparked protests across the country.
EU Defence Group with Ukraine and UK
EU defence ministers wrapped up their talks in Wicklow, Ireland, with no breakthrough on one of Ukraine’s most critical requests. Ukraine continues pushing for more air defence support, including an additional 300 Patriot missile systems.
The ministers made an effort to put pressure on allies to review their stockpiles, but no assurances were made, with countries like Greece and Spain coming under continued pressure as they lag behind other allies.
There was positive movement on frontloading some of the EU’s 90 billion euro loan (£77 billion; $98 billion) to Ukraine. The idea is to bring forward money that would have been dispersed in 2027, money that could reach Kyiv in 2026.
Kallas announced the creation of a new high level group focused on Ukraine, pulling together experts and officials from across the bloc as well as experts from Ukraine, the UK and other NATO allied countries.
The EU is also working on a massive round of sanctions that will specifically target Russia’s military industrial complex, which still continues utilising many European made components.
“With this, Russia wants to scare us away from supporting Ukraine,” Kallas said. “They will not succeed.”
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