Intense Ukrainian drone attacks drive civilian flights out of southern Russian skies
Ukraine has launched some of the biggest ever drone attacks on Russia that has caused disruptions of civil aviation across the country on May 22.
Traffic controllers were forced to close domestic Russian airspace to its own flights across vast swathes of southern Russia, suspending or rerouting flights due to the intensity of Ukrainian drone activity, according to flight tracking data.
Flightradar24 reported that full civilian airspace closures have been implemented over eleven Russian regions: Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula, Oryol, Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Rostov, Krasnodar and the Republic of Adygeja. Partial airspace restrictions are also in effect in Smolensk, Stavropol, Volgograd and Tambov.
The resulting disruption has forced most aircraft travelling to or from Moscow and southern Russia to avoid Ukrainian and western border airspace entirely. Flights are now diverting over the Astrakhan region and the Caspian Sea. “The bulk of planes going or leaving Moscow into the South have to make a wide berth from Ukraine, converging over the Astrakhan area and the Caspian Sea,” Flightradar24 noted.
The affected area covers an estimated 540,000 square kilometres, representing one of the largest peacetime restrictions of Russian civilian airspace since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The onslaught of drones appears to be part of a new strategy that will bring the war home to regular Russian by disrupting travel around the vast country that covers 11 time zones. For most of the last three years, Putin has been careful to shield regular Russians from the effects of the war in order to nip any potential protests in the bud.
Now drones attacks have forced at least 217 airport closures since January 1, Novaya Gazeta reports citing Russia's state aviation agency Rosaviatsia – more than all the forced closures in 2023 and 2024 combined.
The last time Ukraine ramped up its drone strikes was in the days leading up the Victory Day parage on May 9, which brough many foreign dignitaries to Moscow. Those attacks also threw Russia’s civil aviation into chaos and saw some 60,000 Russian stranded at airports across the country after dozens of flights were cancelled or rerouted.
The situation remains fluid. Analysts warn that further escalation could impact even these adjusted flight corridors. “If Ukrainian drones would start entering this area, then it would further complicate this situation,” the German Tendar Telegram channel noted, commenting on the disruptions.
There has been no official comment from Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya), though previous drone incursions over Russian territory have triggered temporary airport closures and flight delays in major cities.
The disruptions underscore the growing reach of Ukraine’s capabilities in the drone war. Ukraine has massively scaled up its domestic production of drones as well as extending their range to be able to reach deep into Russian territory. Russia has recently intensified its missile barrage on Ukraine as ceasefire negotiations get under way, only to see Ukraine respond with swarms of drone attacks inside Russian territory.
Putin orders creation of buffer zone along Ukrainian border
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a buffer zone to be set up along the border with Ukraine on May 22.
Following his visit to the Kursk region, which has been partially controlled by Ukrainian troops for months , Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a "buffer zone" that will run "along the border." Putin said the decision had been made at a government meeting via video link.
He initially declined to say exactly where the zone would extend, how long it would be, or how deep into Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine it would extend. "Our armed forces are in the process of solving this task; enemy firing points are being actively suppressed; work is underway," he said.
The Russian press framed the plan as a rehabilitation zone for Russian regions that had been damaged by escalating cross-border drone attacks. Putin ordered the rapid development of a comprehensive restoration programme for border regions affected by Ukrainian strikes, instructing officials to ensure sufficient financial and logistical support for reconstruction efforts.
Putin directed the Ministry of Economic Development, in coordination with the Presidential Administration, to lead the initiative targeting the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, all of which have faced repeated shelling and drone attacks since the escalation of cross-border hostilities.
"I task the Russian Ministry of Economic Development in cooperation with colleagues from the Presidential Administration to prepare at the earliest possible time the programme for comprehensive restoration of affected districts of Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions," the president said, according to TASS.
Putin emphasised the importance of ensuring the programme is fully resourced. “The programme must be provided with required financial and material resources,” he noted, adding that additional machinery and personnel, including experts from other regions, would be mobilised to assist.
The three regions, which share borders with Ukraine, have reported increasing attacks in recent months, including strikes on civilian infrastructure. Local authorities have declared states of emergency in several districts and implemented evacuations in response to the growing threat.
While Moscow has accused Kyiv of targeting border areas to destabilise Russian territory, Ukrainian officials have largely refrained from confirming cross-border operations, maintaining a policy of strategic ambiguity regarding long-range strikes.
The Kremlin’s move to launch a formal reconstruction initiative underscores the political and logistical challenges posed by the conflict’s spillover into Russian territory. It also reflects a broader attempt to reassure local populations and bolster administrative control in regions facing direct impacts from the war.
No timeline has been announced for the completion of the restoration programme.
The EU prepares a Plan B to sidestep Hungary's veto of Ukraine's accession bid
Brussels is preparing Plan B to side step Hungary’s veto of Ukraine’ accession to the EU, European Pravda reported on May 21. The initial legal steps have already been taken, though they remain undisclosed, according to multiple EU sources cited by the publication.
Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in 2022, but formal accession talks have yet to begin due to Hungary’s opposition.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has cited rule-of-law concerns and what he describes as Ukraine’s mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians as reasons for blocking the talks.
The essence of the plan is to use those processes that do not require unanimity of agreement by EU members to push the accessions forward – and where possible, in conjunction with Moldova, which is also seeking to join the Union. In those matters where unanimity is necessary for a final decision, the negotiations will be done in “parallel” by the other 26 members to reach agreements. Although these parallel negotiations will not be legally binding, they will carry significant political weight and effectively isolate Hungary.
It is hoped in this way Ukraine can progress rapidly towards membership, increasing the pressure on Hungary to make concessions at a future date.
Stripping Hungary of its voting rights
The EU is also considering stripping Hungary of its EU voting rights at the upcoming meeting on May 27, negating its ability to block the Ukraine accession process.
This is the nuclear option, say experts, as it requires invoking Article 7 of the EU founding treating that pertains to backsliding on the rule of law and also Article 2 that enshrines EU members commitment to uphold the, ill-defined, values at the core of the European project.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, removing Hungary’s voting rights is an extremely difficult process, fraught with legal landmines and would be an unprecedented that also threatens to tear the EU apart.
In particular, all 26 members states from the total of 27 would have to vote for stripping Hungary of its voting, leaving open the question of which way Orban’s ally, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, would vote. Lawyers have speculated that parallel motions could be launched to strip both Hungary and Slovakia of their voting rights simultaneously, which in theory would block the two countries from participating and vetoing each other’s votes. However, the EU lawyers admit that this procedure is not well defined in the EU treaty and would almost certain spark a big and long-lasting legal dispute with an uncertain resolution.
European ministers will discuss Hungary's status at a meeting of the General Affairs Council on May 27, the Council said.
Parallel track
The parallel track talks could begin as early as August or September if ongoing diplomatic efforts fail to persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to lift his objections to Ukraine’s membership.
“The essence of the idea is to make full use of the flexibility of EU law,” European Pravda reported. Under the plan, Ukraine would proceed with technical and legal steps towards accession where possible.
At the same time Orbán has sought to build a new far-right alliance in the European Parliament. He has worked with other nationalist and populist parties, particularly Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) and Italy’s Lega, in an effort to form a new group, which is increasing in influence.
“At the same time as Moldova and the EU announce the opening of the first cluster (or clusters) of negotiations, Ukraine and the 26 EU states are [due] to publish an official statement that Ukraine has also completed all the work on those same clusters,” European Pravda reports.
The plan includes the potential convening of intergovernmental conferences, the institutional mechanism that formally drives the EU enlargement process. EU sources indicated that such conferences for Ukraine could be held without full unanimity. “The negotiation framework for Ukraine, approved by the EU, does not require unanimity to convene a conference and even obliges the EU to do so from time to time,” European Pravda said.
For Moldova, joint conferences could result in formal legal progress toward membership. For Ukraine, they would serve as political validation of reform efforts and underline that Hungary’s veto remains the sole obstacle to legal advancement.
Supporters of the strategy argue that once Budapest’s position changes, or a new government takes office, Kyiv could “quickly catch up on the missed legal steps”.
It is expected that Ukraine will need as long as a decade to complete the EU accession process, whereas Orban faces new parliamentary elections in April next year and in theory he will face at least one more election before Ukraine comes close to finishing its accession process.
Kremlin rebukes the EU
The Kremlin rebuked the EU for not following its own rules on May 22 and criticised the reported plans to initiate accession negotiations with Ukraine without Hungary's consent. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that such a move would undermine the EU's legal foundations and harm prospects for peace.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had taken note of discussions in Brussels regarding a possible workaround to Hungary’s veto of Ukraine’s EU membership talks and the so-called Plan B that would allow 26 EU member states bypass the need for unanimous approval.
“If such ideas are implemented, it will be one more example of how the EU is undermining its own legal foundations in order to pursue political objectives,” Zakharova said, according to TASS on May 22. “Brussels is making another step towards completely eroding the EU’s institutional framework and the norms on which its legitimacy is based.”
Zakharova said the plan demonstrated that the EU “is no longer even trying to maintain the appearance of consensus and collective decision-making.” She added that the bloc’s approach to enlargement had become openly political and confrontational.
“Such actions push the prospect of peaceful dialogue further away and show that Brussels is not interested in resolving the Ukrainian conflict through diplomatic means,” she said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly opposed Ukraine’s efforts to join both the EU and Nato, framing the moves as provocative and destabilising.
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