Zelensky in warning over safety of Russian airspace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned airlines and passengers that Russian airspace would be "completely unsafe" and filled with Ukrainian drones for the duration of the war.

"Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia's key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe," he said in his nightly address.

"Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such - not a single civilian aircraft. There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by branding Mr Zelensky's comments "a declaration of state terrorism".

"They are asking us to resume negotiations but you don't negotiate with terrorists," Mr Putin said in a televised news conference.

Mr Putin also said that Russia was open to "concrete" talks on settling the Ukraine conflict ‌if ⁠new momentum could be injected.

Speaking to reporters after a summit in Kyrgyzstan, Mr Putin restated ‌his confidence that Russian ⁠forces ‌would prevail in Ukraine and Kyiv's forces ⁠would "crumble".

More than four years after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified their strikes.

A Russian attack on ‌the ⁠main power facilities in Ukraine's Odesa region ‌‌left more than 350,000 ⁠families ‌temporarily without power, energy company ⁠DTEK said.

While at least 12 people were killed yesterday in Kyiv and the surrounding region during fresh overnight Russian strikes.

Read more: EU summons Russian envoy over Leipzig 'hybrid attack'

Air traffic at Russian airports is also regularly disrupted by the approach of Ukrainian drones, the number of which has increased in recent months.

"We in Ukraine do not want innocent lives to be lost. That is why we are warning our partners: the safe days in Russia's skies are over," Mr Zelensky said.

"Drone-infested skies are no place for civilian aviation," he added. "The sky over Russia is currently for drones as long as the war continues."

He said Ukraine would, however, clear its drones from Russian skies when its partners requested it, "for the sake of diplomacy, for the sake of negotiations, for specific periods of time and in specific destinations".

Diplomatic efforts under US mediation to end the conflict have stalled since the outbreak of war in the Middle East in February.