It will mean Ukraine is winning: Zelenskyy on potential resumption of flights in Ukraine

Ukrainska Pravda
·2 min read
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has stated that the Ukrainian government is working on resuming flights from Ukraine but made it clear that flights from Boryspil airport are a distant prospect.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his end-of-year press conference on 19 December

Details: A Polish correspondent asked Zelenskyy about a technical flight carried out from Boryspil airport on 19 December. It turned out Zelenskyy was not aware of this. When he was informed of the backstory - the journalist’s mother had asked when she would be able to fly to Kyiv - Zelenskyy replied jokingly: "At the moment we can only help you by giving your mother a train carriage."

But he made it clear that this will become possible when Ukraine’s victory is closer.

Quote: "Boryspil is like the Black Sea. To be honest, this is a very serious operation. Opening Boryspil airport would be a victory for the Ukrainian air defence. This would mean that Ukraine is winning. This is very serious.

This is also a powerful economic step. I’ll be sincere: we've  been asking our colleagues about this and we know exactly what we need.

So tell your mother to stay healthy and that we are working on her idea [to resume flights at Boryspil]."

Background:

  • On the morning of 19 December 2023 a technical overhaul of the Boeing 777-300 aircraft without the passengers and cargo was carried out from the Boryspil Airport despite closed air space on the request of Skyline Express. This was the fourth successful overhoverhaul of an air vessel from the Boryspil Airport since the beginning of the war.

  • The technical overhaul of the aircraft at Boryspil contributes to testing the recovery policy and paves the way for "resuming regular operations as soon as corresponding risk assessment allows it".

  • On 1 December, Andrii Yermak, Head of the President's Office, expressed confidence that Boryspil airport would soon resume sending and receiving aircraft, as "we are now able to ensure the safety of this facility".

  • Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said that the reopening of Boryspil airport would only be possible when the Ukrainian sky is completely free of Russian missiles and drones.

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