Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russian airspace is becoming unsafe for commercial flights, citing the growing number of Ukrainian attack drones operating deep inside Russian territory. The warning comes as Vladimir Putin pledged to intensify Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of winter, marking a sharp escalation in rhetoric from both sides as the war grinds on with no resolution in sight.

Ukraine's foreign secretary, Andrii Sybiha, said Kyiv had formally notified the International Civil Aviation Organization that Russian airspace is unsafe for civilian aviation. Ukraine is reportedly capable of launching several hundred drones a day, with a stated ambition of reaching 1,000, targeting refineries, warehouses and industrial sites more than 2,000km inside Russia. An aviation analyst suggested Ukraine could force periodic, though not permanent, closures of Russian airports. Putin dismissed Zelenskyy's comments as "state terrorism" and confirmed orders for mass strikes on Ukraine's energy grid this winter, while declining to say whether Russia might target British facilities supplying weapons to Ukraine.