Zelenskyy denied that Ukraine had carried out attacks on Russian civil aviation
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is not conducting operations against Russian civil aviation. According to him, Ukrainian strikes on Russian airfields are aimed at military targets, and one of the operations is intended to force the Russians to shut down airports due to the threat of attacks.
Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not target civilian aircraft during operations in Russia. According to him, strikes on airfields are directed specifically at military infrastructure. “We have carried out attacks exclusively on Russian military airports. We have a large-scale and very special operation that has been ongoing for about a year and a half,” the president said.
Zelenskyy noted that this operation is called “Kilim.” According to him, it was developed by the Security Service of Ukraine. “Its name is ‘Kilim.’ I believe this is a very successful idea from the SBU,” the head of state said.
What Is Operation “Kilim”?
The president explained that the Ukrainian side used drones in such a way that the Russian side was forced to temporarily suspend operations at its airports due to the threat posed by the drones. In Russia, according to Zelenskyy, a similar regime is called “Kovyor.” When it is implemented, flights in the vicinity of an airport may be restricted or completely halted. “We had drones that we used in such a way that the Russians would suspend operations at their airports—they call it ‘Kovyor,’” Zelenskyy explained.
He emphasized that it is precisely these operations against airfields that the Ukrainian side is referring to. “We carried out only this operation targeting airports, and I don’t know who is spreading other information or why,” the president noted.
Zelenskyy denied attacks on civilian aircraft
Separately, the head of state emphasized that Ukraine has not carried out operations targeting civilian aircraft. According to him, such actions would violate international law. “You can’t do that—it’s international law; we’re not terrorists,” Zelenskyy said.
Thus, the president rejected accusations that Ukraine is deliberately attacking Russian civilian aviation. He emphasized that Ukrainian operations in the vicinity of Russian airfields have military objectives.
Zelenskyy also noted that Operation “Kilim” has been underway for about a year and a half. According to him, its goal is to disrupt Russian military aviation operations and create additional difficulties for the use of Russian military infrastructure.
Russia has not ruled out the theoretical possibility of an offensive from the Bryansk region toward the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. At the same time, no Russian troops have been detected in the Bryansk region in this direction, although the Ukrainian military has spotted Russian military equipment along the border.
Ukrainian defense forces have almost completely liberated the Dnipropetrovsk region from Russian troops. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about 10 square kilometers remain under Russian control—three small villages where, as the president claims, there are virtually no Russian troops left.
