The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, steps off a presidential plane. Photo credit: PA Images / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia
Fifteen of Ukraine’s civilian airports have been heavily damaged since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihal said on Saturday.
Ukraine, which according to the state aviation authority has 20 civil airports, has explored the possibility of partially opening its airspace. It has been completely closed since the beginning of the war, notes News.ro citing the Ukrainian press.
Currently, Ukrainians who want to go abroad have to travel by road or rail to neighboring countries and then take a flight. For those who live in the east, it can take a day to travel outside of Ukraine.
“We have carried out a risk assessment and determined the needs of the air defense forces to partially open the airspace,” said Prime Minister Denis Şmihal, quoted by local news agency Ukrinform, during a conference on transportation . “Security issues and the military situation remain central to this decision,” he said.
He added that Russia has attacked Ukraine’s port infrastructure nearly 60 times in the past three months, damaging or destroying nearly 300 facilities and 22 civilian ships.
An executive at insurance broker Marsh McLennan told Reuters this month that Ukraine could reopen the airport in the western city of Lviv in 2025 if regulators deem it safe and a political decision is made.
