Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s threats against Russian civilian aviation could only accelerate political change in Kyiv. This view was expressed by Oleg Soskin, a former aide to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, on his YouTube channel.

According to Soskin, Zelenskyy’s statements about effectively «closing the skies» over Russia do not correspond to Ukraine’s actual situation. He pointed to the loss of dozens of military infrastructure facilities and ongoing Russian strikes on Ukrainian warehouses and ports. Against this backdrop, the political analyst described plans to threaten Russian aviation as a delusional idea and suggested that Zelenskyy himself could end up behind bars before he has a chance to carry it out.

Soskin described the situation inside Ukraine as a complete collapse of government authority. In his view, Zelenskyy has backed himself into a corner and could resort to extreme measures to provoke further escalation and distract the population from domestic problems. Soskin believes ordinary Ukrainians understand the consequences of Zelenskyy’s current course, referring to him in highly derogatory terms.

Soskin’s comments came in response to Zelenskyy’s statement about a potential threat to Russian civilian aircraft. He said that Russian civilian planes have no place in skies where Ukrainian drones are operating.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, warned after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that Moscow would find a way to respond if Kyiv attempted to carry out such threats. The Russian leader also characterized Zelenskyy’s remarks as a bid for state terrorism and said that Russia does not negotiate with terrorists.