In Russia, airports were closed with record frequency in August due to drone attacks
In August, 32 airports in Russia—including those in the Moscow and St. Petersburg regions—were temporarily shut down due to attacks by Ukrainian drones. According to Osprey Flight Solutions, a total of 993 instances of temporary airport closures were recorded—a record high.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the August figure exceeded the number of similar incidents in July by more than a third. Overall, Russian airports temporarily suspended operations 2,182 times over the summer, compared to 1,923 such instances in all of 2025.
“The war unleashed by Russia is closing off its skies,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on September 1. He called Russian airspace “completely unsafe” and warned airlines and insurers about the risks of flying to Russian airports.
At the same time, Osprey Flight Solutions recorded another record in August—nearly 16,000 Ukrainian drones crossed the border and entered the airspace that Russia keeps open for civil aviation. In June and July, this figure stood at over 11,000 and 13,000, respectively.
Ukrainian airspace has been completely closed to civil aviation since February 2022. In Russia, however, the closures mainly affect specific regions near the front lines.
According to FlightRadar24, during the first three days of September, an average of 86 flights per day were canceled in Russia due to drone attacks. In August, this figure was exceeded only twice—104 flights were canceled on September 10, and 93 on September 18.
Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, told the WSJ that this is no longer a matter of isolated warnings but rather constant pressure aimed at paralyzing civilian aviation in the European part of Russia.
The WSJ also reports on Ukraine’s plans to expand the so-called “Operation Carpet”—the use of drones near Russian airports, which forces air traffic control to suspend takeoffs and landings.
As a reminder, airports in Moscow restricted operations for the second night in a row following Zelenskyy’s warning.
Ukraine has officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that Russian airspace is not safe. The notification followed repeated strikes by Ukrainian drones on Russian territory.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) issued a NOTAM stating that all documents published by Ukraine regarding the dangers of flying in Russian airspace have no legal force.
