Russia has vowed not to allow any disruption to civil aviation after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his country’s incoming drones had made Russian airspace dangerous to use.
Zelensky said Ukraine‘s response to Russian attacks meant “the war started by Russia is closing its own skies” but his forces are not targeting civil aviation.
Andrei Nikitin, Russia’s transport minister, said the country “will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation”.
“We are constantly improving flight safety and airport security requirements, and we have solutions for all of this,” he said, adding that the ministry of defence and the Russian National Guard have joined hands to work on threats from Kyiv.
Zelensky on Tuesday warned airlines and insurance companies the presence of Ukrainian drones had made Russian skies dangerous to use.
“Although Russian authorities are not properly announcing it, Russian airspace will effectively be closing,” he said.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 data showed disruptions yesterday at Moscow‘s main airport, while some airlines cancelled flights though they did not specify the reason for doing so.
Building Patriots can take several years, says Rubio
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said it can take Ukraine several years to start building Patriot air defence interceptors and doing so is not an immediate solution for Kyiv.
“I mean, these are highly sophisticated weaponry,” he told Fox News.
Rubio said the US is negotiating with Ukraine over licensed production of Patriot missiles.
“That may come to fruition, but it really won’t solve the short-term challenge that they’re pointing to,” he said. Rubio said the “whole world is asking for more air interceptors” but the US needs to fulfill its requirements first.
“It’s become the number one defence need on the planet, not just for Ukraine, but on the planet,” he said, including in the Middle East because of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 06:28
Russian attacks wound 17 and damage building in Ukraine’s Odesa
Russian air attacks wounded 17 people and damaged a 21-storey residential building in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours today, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the city’s military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Of those injured, three are children, Lysak said in the post, which showed footage of a building with its windows blown out.
In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a Reuters witness reported an explosion on Wednesday evening, amid continued Russian air strikes.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 06:06
Watch: Trump doesn’t understand he is in a forever war with Iran and Russia
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 05:46
Norway seizes Russian ship over Naftogaz award
Norway on Wednesday said it had seized a Russian vessel at the request of Ukrainian state firm Naftogaz, to ensure that the Russian Federation meets its outstanding obligations, confirming an earlier statement by Naftogaz.
The Ukrainian company has been pursuing legal action against Russia since 2016 to seek compensation for Moscow’s expropriation of Naftogaz property when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
A tribunal in The Hague in April 2023 ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz $4.22bn plus interest and legal costs to compensate for assets it seized in Crimea, but Moscow has not done so.
Naftogaz said the seizure was ordered by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court on 31 August.
It said the vessel, the professor Molchanov, was owned by Russia and used for commercial expedition cruises, including to the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard.
“Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award,” said Naftogaz acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 05:30
Moscow responds to Ukraine’s warning on risky Russian airspace
Russia vowed to head off any disruption to civil aviation on Wednesday after a warning by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that its drones had made Russian airspace dangerous to use.
Zelensky has warned that Ukraine is responding to Russian attacks meant “the war started by Russia is closing its own skies” but his forces are not targeting civil aviation.
Andrei Nikitin, Russia’s transport minister, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency: “We are constantly improving flight safety and airport security requirements, and we have solutions for all of this.”
“We are working in close contact with the Ministry of Defence and the Russian National Guard. And I believe that we will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation,” he said.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 04:56
Flights to Russia cancelled as disruptions seen at Moscow airport
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 data showed disruptions yesterday at Moscow’s main airport, while some airlines cancelled flights though they did not specify the reason for doing so.
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport showed 21 cancelled flights and 235 delays, while the city’s Vnukovo airport had 22 cancelled flights and 94 delays, according to Flightradar24.
“We continue to closely monitor the evolving situation in the region and adjust our flight schedules and routings as necessary,” airline flydubai said in a statement.
“As the situation remains dynamic, our teams are continuously assessing operational requirements. We recognise that some delays and diversions may occur… The safety of our customers and crew remains our highest priority,” they said.
Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines said it had cancelled some flights to Russia for “technical and operational” reasons, without giving further details.
Vnukovo airport said Pegasus Airlines had cancelled six arriving and six departing flights at the hub on Tuesday.
The carrier said overnight flights into Wednesday were impacted, but other ongoing flights were “operating as scheduled”.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 04:42
Ukraine asks UN aviation agency to support ban on flights in Russian airspace
Ukraine has urged the UN’s aviation agency to ask its members to fully ban operations in Russian airspace, a day after president Volodymyr Zelensky warned it was “becoming completely unsafe”.
Ukraine would only target Russian military facilities and not threaten civilian aircraft, Zelensky added, but he stressed that the growing number of Ukrainian drones in Russian skies should “be taken into account”.
In a letter to International Civil Aviation Organization chairman Juan Carlos Salazar, a copy of which was exclusively shared with Reuters, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister Mykola Kalashnyk said Kyiv believed the risk of tragedies in the skies should be minimised.
Ukraine has asked ICAO to encourage aviation authorities and airlines to safeguard civil aviation, “including by facilitating the full prohibition by ICAO member states of civil aircraft operations within the airspace of the Russian Federation”.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 04:26
Russian air attack damages multi-story residential building in Ukraine’s Odesa
A Russian air attack damaged a multi-story residential building in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours today, said Serhiy Lysak, the head of its military administration.
At least eight people were injured in the attack, Lysak said.
A Reuters witness reported an explosion on Wednesday in the capital Kyiv amid continued Russian air strikes.
Arpan Rai3 September 2026 03:56
Russia vows to fend off disruption to civil aviation after Ukraine’s threats
Russia vowed to head off any disruption to civil aviation on Wednesday after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenksy said Kyiv’s drones had made Russian airspace dangerous to use.
Mr Zelensky warned airlines and insurance firms that the presence of Ukrainian drones as it responded to Russian attacks meant “the war started by Russia is closing its own skies”. He said he was not targeting civil aviation.
And Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday the country had also officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organisation that Russian airspace was not safe.
Jane Dalton3 September 2026 03:01
ICYMI: Indian leader tells visibly tense Putin to end Ukraine war
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