MOSCOW/WASHINGTON – The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a notice issued by Ukraine, which claimed that Russian airspace was not safe for civilian aviation, distorts facts, misleads users of Russian airspace and carries no legal force.
The Russian statement came three days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned international airlines that Russian airspace is becoming "completely unsafe" as Ukraine responds to an "escalation" in missile and drone attacks.
In a statement on its official website, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Russia had lodged a resolute protest against Ukraine's reckless terrorist acts that run counter to international law.
The ministry stated that the Ukrainian side's remarks pose a direct threat to civil aviation. Relevant Russian authorities are in contact with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and have sent an urgent appeal to the ICAO secretary-general.
Russia remains unwavering in safeguarding civil aviation safety, added the ministry.
Ukraine: Attack on security service HQ ‘major escalation’
The Russian attack on the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) is a "major escalation that demands resolute responses," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Friday.
“Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace – laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy," Sybiha wrote on X.
He called on Ukraine's partners to condemn the attack and step up pressure on Russia.
Earlier on Friday, President Zelensky said a Russian drone struck the SSU building in central Kiev, aiming "directly" at the office of SSU deputy director Oleksandr Poklad.
Trump envoys to visit Moscow, Kyiv
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that two US envoys – Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner – are traveling to Moscow and Kyiv to seek chances to end the years-long Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators,” Trump said at the White House. “They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it.”
The two US envoys are expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday and meet the Ukrainian president the next day, according to a report from US online news outlet Axios.
Witkoff and Kushner have held separate talks over the past few months with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, but little progress has been made, the report added.
The planned visit would mark Witkoff and Kushner's first trip to the Ukrainian capital since they took on leading roles in the Trump administration's efforts to end the conflict.
