Ukraine war
Zelensky warns against flights over Russia – Putin threatens
Updated on September 1, 2026 – 11:39 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After violent Russian air strikes, Ukrainian President Zelensky issued a warning to airlines that continue to fly over Russia. Kremlin leader Putin reacts promptly.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky All airlines are at risk because of Kiev’s drone attacks Russia warned. “Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” Zelensky said in his statement Kyiv distributed evening video message. The Ukraine However, this does not threaten civil aviation or individual aircraft. “There will simply be so many drones in Russian airspace that this will have to be taken into account,” said the head of state. Russian airspace will be “effectively” closed.
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin responded that night at a press conference in Bishkek, the capital of the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. It is a matter of “state terrorism” to which Russia will respond. “I would like to point out that they are asking us to resume negotiations,” Putin said, referring to statements from Kiev.
Putin: No negotiations with terrorists in Kyiv
“They ask for personal meetings. But no negotiations are being held with terrorists,” emphasized Putin. According to his account, the negotiations under US mediation are on hold. However, the president said that particularly those of US presidents Donald Trump sent envoys were welcome in Moscow. In response to a question at the press conference about why Moscow was not militarily eliminating the leadership in Kiev, Putin said that representatives would still be needed for negotiations in the future.
Just last week, Zelensky threatened to use up to 1,000 long-range drones every day. He now also confirmed media reports that the USA had asked for a pause in attacks on Moscow and St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week. CIA chief John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow unannounced at that time.
According to Zelensky, another state also requested a pause in attacks on Vladivostok. The Eastern Economic Forum with international guests and an appearance by Putin will take place in the Russian city on the Pacific from Tuesday to Friday. Ukrainian attacks are not yet known in the Far East region, which is over 6,000 kilometers away from Ukraine.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than four and a half years and, in its defensive battle, has repeatedly used drones to attack distant targets in the Russian hinterland.