Will Ukraine Attack Civil Aviation In Russia?

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These disruptions have heavily impacted major aviation hubs like Moscow's airports (Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky) as well as regional facilities across western and southern Russia, such as Kazan, Saratov and Sochi. Major regional shutdowns also occur from targeted strikes, such as when 13 southern airports simultaneously halted operations after a drone hit an air navigation facility in Rostov-on-Don.

There are about 60 foreign commercial carriers that fly to Russian airports. These include Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, flydubai, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Air Arabia, and Flynas. Regional operators like El Al (Israel) and Royal Jordanian also maintain service.

Turkish Airlines (along with subsidiaries like AJet and Southwind Airlines) and low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines operate extensive networks connecting multiple Russian cities directly to Turkish hubs.

Major Chinese airlines – Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines (alongside regional carriers like Beijing Capital, Sichuan, and Tianjin airlines) – run regular routes connecting China and Russia. Other Asian operators like Sri Lankan Airlines and Vietnam Airlines also maintain service.

Airlines from neighboring friendly states maintain heavy flight schedules into Russian hubs, including Air Serbia, Belarus's Belavia, Azerbaijan Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, Kazakhstan's SCAT Airlines, and multiple carriers out of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Several African airlines operate routes into Russia, including EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Air Algérie, and Egyptian carriers like Air Cairo.

Russian airlines offer significant service in Russia and internationally and include Aeroflot, Pobeda, Rossiya, S7 (Siberia), Ural, Azimuth, Nordwind and Utair plus smaller specialized carriers.

The United States, the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other Western nations banned Russian aircraft and airlines from entering their airspace when the war began. In retaliation, Russia closed its airspace to carriers from over 30 countries, including all EU member states and the U.S. from the end of February, 2022.

Moscow's four commercial airports handle between 1,500 and 1,800 flights per day. St. Petersburg handles 400 to 500 flights daily.

While Russia's commercial airports remain in business, all of Ukraine's commercial passenger air facilities have been closed since the start of the war. Travelers must fly into neighboring countries (such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, or Moldova) and cross into Ukraine by land via train or bus. The Ukrainian government's primary presidential aircraft-an Airbus A319 operated by the state enterprise“Ukraine”-is based at a secure facility at the Krakow John Paul II International Airport in Poland.

Ukrainian swarm drone attacks on Russian territory are an effort to raise the cost of the war for Russia and demoralize the public and push Russia's leaders into negotiations. Zelensky wants a ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of Russia's army from Ukraine's territory. Putin says he will not negotiate with“terrorists.”