Volodymyr Zelensky warns Russian airspace unsafe as Ukraine escalates drone campaign

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned global airlines and insurers that Russian airspace is "effectively closing" due to a massive escalation in Ukraine's long-range drone campaign. While Russia's transport ministry vowed to prevent disruptions, flight tracking data showed hundreds of delays and cancellations at Moscow's Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports. Meanwhile, internal tensions flared in Kyiv after a shootout between Ukraine's SBU and HUR intelligence agencies over a detained Russian volunteer commander, prompting Zelenskyy to fire a senior SBU official.

Zelensky airspace warning to airlines

• ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines, insurers, and passengers on September 1, 2026, that Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe due to Ukrainian drone operations
• ▪The International Civil Aviation Organization responded to Ukraine's warning by calling on member states to ensure civilian aircraft safety amid risks from unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air defenses
• ▪Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced on September 2, 2026, that Ukraine officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization that Russian airspace is unsafe for civil aviation

Ukrainian drone campaign escalation

• ▪Ukraine is aiming to launch up to 1,000 drones a day deep inside Russian territory to disrupt Russia's economy and paralyze key airfields in central Russia
• ▪Aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions assessed that daily Ukrainian drone and missile attacks deep inside Russian territory are likely to continue through 2026

Russian aviation security response

• ▪Flightradar24 data showed that 21 flights were canceled and 235 delayed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, while 22 flights were canceled and 94 delayed at Vnukovo Airport overnight on September 2, 2026
• ▪Pegasus Airlines canceled multiple flights to Russia scheduled overnight from September 1 to September 2, 2026, citing technical and operational reasons
• ▪Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin stated on September 2, 2026, that Russia will not allow significant disruptions to civil aviation and is working with the Ministry of Defence to counter threats

Kyiv intelligence services shootout

• ▪A shootout erupted in Kyiv on September 2, 2026, between Ukraine's domestic security service (SBU) and military intelligence agency (HUR), leaving three HUR officers injured
• ▪The shootout in Kyiv was triggered when SBU officers attempted to detain Stepan Kaplunov, a Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander fighting under the supervision of the HUR
• ▪President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Oleh Khramov, the head of the SBU's department for the protection of state secrets, following the interagency shootout
• ▪Stepan Kaplunov and his lawyer Taras Borovskyi alleged that Kaplunov's confession of contacting Russian intelligence to plan assassinations was coerced under SBU torture and threats

Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure

• ▪Russian air attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa on September 3, 2026, wounded 17 people, including three children, and damaged a 21-story residential building
• ▪Russian missile and drone strikes on the southern Odesa region knocked out power to more than 350,000 homes and damaged a combined heat and power plant
• ▪Russian drone strikes hit central Kyiv for a seventh consecutive day on September 2, 2026, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce a new two-tier air raid alert system

20 sources