Ukraine formally notifies ICAO that Russian airspace is unsafe for civil aviation
On September 2, 2026, Ukraine officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that Russia's airspace is unsafe for civil aviation and called on airlines and governments to avoid flights over Russian territory. The step followed President Zelensky's September 1 statement that Russian airspace was becoming fully unsafe due to Ukrainian drones and missiles responding to Russian aggression. Within hours, Turkish carriers cancelled flights between Turkey and Moscow, Russian airline shares fell, and Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of "state terrorism" and threatened retaliation.
Key points
- Ukraine notified ICAO on September 2 that Russian airspace is unsafe for civil aviation, citing increased military activity.
- Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced the notification on X, grounding Ukraine's actions in Article 51 of the UN Charter on self-defense.
- Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk separately wrote to ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar Gomez calling for a complete ban on civil aviation flights over Russia.
- On the evening of September 1, President Zelensky said Russian airspace was becoming fully unsafe for civil aviation and urged airlines, insurers, and market participants to factor in the danger.
- At the SCO summit in Bishkek on September 1, Putin called Zelensky's statement a "claim of state terrorism" and threatened retaliation, including possible strikes on Ukraine's energy sector.
- Turkish carriers, including Pegasus, cancelled flights between Turkey and Moscow on the night of September 2; shares of Russian airlines including Aeroflot fell more than 5%.
Why it matters
The notification escalates Ukraine's effort to push the war's consequences onto Russian territory by targeting civil aviation safety and formalizes Ukraine's position before an international regulatory body. It has already produced concrete market and operational effects, including Turkish airline cancellations and a more than 5% drop in shares of Russian airlines such as Aeroflot, and drew a sharp personal response from Putin, who threatened retaliation against Ukraine's energy sector.
What happened
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry officially informed the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on September 2, 2026, that Russia's airspace is unsafe for civil aviation because of increased military activity, and urged airlines and governments to avoid Russian territory. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced the notification in a post on X, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter on self-defense. Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk sent a separate letter to ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar Gomez calling for a complete ban on civil aviation flights over Russia, citing electronic warfare and GPS spoofing over the Baltic states and Russia affecting tens of thousands of Ryanair, Wizz Air, and Finnair flights, as well as concerns about Rosaviatsia's handling of crash investigations. The step followed President Zelensky's September 1 evening statement that Russian airspace was becoming fully unsafe for civil aviation due to Ukrainian drones and missiles responding to Russian aggression. ICAO had not made any official public statements on the matter at the time of reporting. The warning produced immediate operational effects: Turkish carriers, including Pegasus, cancelled flights between Turkey and Moscow on the night of September 2, and Vnukovo airport imposed flight restrictions for security reasons. Shares of Russian airlines including Aeroflot fell more than 5% after Zelensky's remarks. At the SCO summit in Bishkek on September 1, Putin called Zelensky's statement a "claim of state terrorism" and threatened retaliation, including strikes on Ukraine's energy sector.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources center Foreign Minister Sybiha, Infrastructure Minister Kalashnyk, and President Zelensky as responsible actors exercising a legitimate right to self-defense. Coverage emphasizes concrete aviation-safety grounds, pointing to past GPS spoofing and electronic warfare incidents, closed Russian crash investigations, and Rosaviatsia's non-compliance with international standards. Several outlets frame it as "the war returning to Russia," and treat the ICAO notification as a formal, defensible diplomatic step rather than a threat.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on whether Ukraine has actually begun a specific large-scale drone operation targeting Moscow airports. The Atlantic reported that Zelensky's remarks indicated the start of a plan dubbed "M&M's," which envisioned launching up to 1,000 small UAVs per day toward Moscow airports to paralyze operations and was allegedly frozen after the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The Office of the President of Ukraine called reporting about the preparation of such an operation "complete nonsense." The two sides also frame the notification differently: Putin described Zelensky's statement as a "claim of state terrorism," while Ukrainian officials framed it as a responsible exercise of the right to self-defense and a warning grounded in real aviation risks.
Background
Ukraine closed its own airspace at the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, a precedent Ukraine points to in justifying its current actions. According to The Atlantic, a Ukrainian plan called "M&M's" reportedly envisioned launching up to 1,000 small UAVs per day toward Moscow airports to paralyze their operations; the Office of the President of Ukraine called this reporting "complete nonsense." Putin made his "state terrorism" remarks at a press conference during the SCO summit in Bishkek on September 1. Pegasus cancelled specific flights between Turkey and Moscow on the night of September 2, citing "technical reasons" and indicating a resumption from September 2; additional Turkish and other airlines' flights to and from Vnukovo were cancelled during the night and morning of September 2, and Vnukovo imposed flight restrictions for security reasons.