Will Russia allow it? Zelensky decided to open Boryspil airport

Ukrainian servicemen and Javelin anti-tank missiles at Boryspil airport near Kiev, Ukraine. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / AP
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Flights from Ukraine to other countries will resume before the end of winter 2025. This is reported by the Ukrainian media with reference to anonymous sources in the government.

It is noted that now the authorities are allegedly looking for reliable insurance mechanisms, simultaneously deciding which airport to open first — Lviv or Kiev Boryspil. According to rumors, the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, insists on the latter, the Strana newspaper writes.

"If we are lucky, then in January we will have five or six airlines that will want to fly (from Ukraine. — Ed.)," said the senior partner of Marsh McLennan, which insures ships plying the Black Sea corridor.

The authorities are really considering the option of opening flights even before the end of hostilities, sources and experts confirmed to the Country, noting that the idea is encountering serious obstacles. And the resumption of Boryspil's work is generally considered madness.

"The idea of opening an air service while the war is going on is purely PR. The authorities, against the background of the extremely difficult situation at the front, want to show that at least something is getting better in the country, elements of peaceful life are returning. But the military says that such PR can be very expensive.

The opening of Boryspil is generally madness. Passenger planes will fly on virtually the same trajectories as Russian air targets, which are now increasingly attacking Kiev, and also flying through the Kiev region to the west. And therefore there is a great risk of accidental hit. In addition, Boryspil is relatively close to the Russian border. Therefore, the risks of arriving on it are extremely high. And the Russians will definitely strike when they find out that we are going to resume flights. And this issue will be resolved," the source said.

According to him, the situation with Lviv looks simpler only at first glance.

"After takeoff, the plane will be in the airspace of Ukraine for less than 10 minutes. However, as you know, Russian missiles also reach Lviv. Less often than to the more eastern regions, but they fly. And if there is such a fat target as an operating airport, then the Russians, I am sure, will spend money to inflict a massive blow on it, destroy the terminal and the runway. And so far there are no such air defense systems that would 100% guarantee protection. And this is not to mention the fact that in order to strengthen the protection of airports, it will be necessary to transfer air defense systems from somewhere, the number of which is not unlimited. And this will mean that some other territories will have to be deprived of protection. Is it necessary to do this for the sake of PR?" — adds a source.

In addition, flights are prohibited during an air alert, and it sometimes lasts for hours and several times a day. In such conditions, there can be no stable flight schedule, he stressed.

"Therefore, the idea of resuming air traffic before the end of hostilities is extremely doubtful," the source summed up.

As reported by EADaily, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution on the termination of air traffic with Iran. This was announced by the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnichuk.

In this case, we are talking more about a symbolic step, because now on the Ukraine is prohibited from any aviation communication, the Strana newspaper noted.