Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow responds to Zelensky’s threat to Russian airspace as flights cancelled

Russia has vowed not to allow any disruption to civil aviation after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his country’s incoming drones had made Russian airspace dangerous to use.

Zelensky said Ukraine 's response to Russian attacks meant "the war started by Russia is closing its own skies" but his forces are not targeting civil aviation.

Andrei Nikitin, Russia's transport minister, said the country “will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation”.

"We are constantly improving flight safety and airport security requirements, and we have solutions for all of this,” he said, adding that the ministry of defence and the Russian National Guard have joined hands to work on threats from Kyiv.

Zelensky on Tuesday warned airlines and insurance companies the presence of Ukrainian drones had made Russian ⁠skies dangerous to use.

“Although Russian authorities are not properly announcing it, Russian airspace will effectively be closing,” he said.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 data showed disruptions yesterday at Moscow 's main airport, while some ‌airlines cancelled flights though they did not specify the reason for doing so.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said it can take Ukraine several years to start building Patriot air defence interceptors and doing so is not an immediate solution for Kyiv.

Rubio said the US is negotiating with Ukraine over licensed production of Patriot missiles.

“That may come to fruition, but it really won’t solve the short-term challenge that they’re pointing to,” he said. Rubio said the “whole world is asking for more air interceptors” but the US needs to fulfill its requirements first.

“It’s become the number one defence need on the planet, not just for Ukraine, but on the planet,” he said, including in the Middle East because of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Of those injured, three are children, Lysak said in the post, which showed footage of a building with its windows blown out.

In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a Reuters witness ‌reported an explosion ​on Wednesday ‌evening, amid ⁠continued Russian air strikes.

Norway on Wednesday said it had seized a Russian vessel at the request of Ukrainian state firm Naftogaz, to ensure that the Russian Federation meets its outstanding obligations, ⁠confirming an earlier statement by Naftogaz.