Ukraine's drone strategy starts choking Russian civil aviation
Ukraine plans to intensify drone activity near Russian airports to force prolonged flight suspensions and pressure Moscow. The tactic is already pushing airlines to cancel flights and reroute.
Ukraine is working to make drone activity near Russian airports so persistent that temporary shutdowns turn into lasting flight paralysis, The Wall Street Journal reports. The effort is part of a broader campaign to weaken Russia's economy and push Moscow toward ending the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently warned airlines that Russian airspace is becoming increasingly unsafe. Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for Ukraine's Armed Forces, said the approach is shifting from sporadic alerts to sustained pressure aimed at disrupting civil aviation across the European part of Russia. Ukraine plans to expand an operation codenamed "Kovior," in which drones near airports force air traffic controllers to halt takeoffs and landings, while insisting it will not target passenger jets.
Record drone numbers
In August, the number of Ukrainian drones crossing into Russian airspace — which remains open to civilian aircraft — hit a record of roughly 16,000, according to aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions. Experts warn that the sheer volume of drones, combined with intense Russian air defense activity and widespread GPS spoofing, poses growing risks to civilian flights as well. In August, an average of 32 Russian airports were temporarily closed each day due to drone threats.
Airlines respond
In late June, Israel's El Al suspended flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow over drone threats. In April, Air India rerouted its remaining route through Russian territory, adding a refueling stop in Seoul for flights from San Francisco to Delhi. Turkey's Pegasus and the UAE's Flydubai recently canceled several flights to Russia, citing technical and operational factors. According to Flightradar24, airlines have canceled an average of 86 flights per day since September 1.
Osprey's chief intelligence officer, Matt Borie, warned that Russia's approach to airspace safety makes an aviation disaster involving a shoot-down only a matter of time.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has continued since February 2022, while the war itself dates back to Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014.
