Zelensky Has a Warning for Commercial Airlines

Ukraine's president on Tuesday told commercial airlines to treat Russian skies as a danger zone. In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelensky warned carriers, insurers, and airports that intensified Ukrainian drone strikes will make Russia's airspace "completely dangerous." He stressed that Ukraine is not targeting civilian planes but said "there will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account." The BBC reports Western airlines largely already avoid Russian airspace, but Chinese, Turkish and Gulf state carriers do fly through it.

Vladimir Putin branded Zelensky's comments "a declaration of state terrorism" and vowed to step up Russia's own attacks on Ukraine. The Guardian reports that while it's tough to verify figures, Ukraine is currently capable of launching several hundred drones daily, and sources say it hopes to grow that number to 1,000.