Kyiv airports ready to host foreign delegations if Russia guarantees safe corridor, Zelensky says

Airports in Kyiv and the surrounding region are technically ready to receive aircraft carrying foreign delegations, but their use depends on Russia agreeing to provide a safe corridor, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Sept. 8.

Airports across Ukraine have been closed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion amid continued Russian attacks, making trains the primary mode of travel for foreign delegations and other official visitors.

According to the president, Ukraine had been prepared to receive a U.S. aircraft carrying President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their Sept. 6 visit to Kyiv.

A day before the delegation arrived, Zelensky said Russia had deliberately targeted the runways at Kyiv's Zhuliany airport and Boryspil International Airport after discussions emerged about the possibility of Witkoff and Kushner flying directly into Ukraine.

The airport strikes were part of a broader Russian overnight attack involving ballistic missiles and 167 drones, which killed at least seven people and injured at least 51 others across Ukraine.

The president said another option considered for the U.S. delegation was to fly to Gomel, Belarus, and then travel to Ukraine by road.

"From Gomel, it's a little over three hours by road. We worked through that option as well, and formally our security service was ready to meet Steve and Jared," Zelensky said.

Witkoff and Kushner ultimately chose to travel to Ukraine by train.

"They chose the train route. We told them it would be a safe and comfortable way to arrive in Ukraine," Zelensky said. "The entire American delegation really liked the train. We agreed that they would come again."

Despite railways becoming one of the main means of transportation within Ukraine and abroad following the suspension of air travel, Russian forces regularly target Ukraine’s railway infrastructure, including civilian trains.

The latest such attack took place on Sept. 8, when Russian drones struck a Kyiv-Sumy passenger train. No one was injured after the train was stopped during an air raid alert and around 90 passengers, along with crew members, were evacuated under new safety rules.

In 2024, the Ukrainian government considered reopening some airports in major cities such as Kyiv and Lviv, saying it was "95%" ready to reopen the country's airspace. Still, officials said discussions about resuming flights without sufficient air defenses would be "impractical" as long as the war continues.

In March 2025, the general director of Lviv's Danylo Halytskyi International Airport said flights could resume as early as April or May under an optimistic scenario being considered by the government. At the same time, the airport held talks with Wizz Air, airBaltic, Turkish Airlines, SkyUp, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and LOT about a possible resumption of flights.

As of 2026, all Ukrainian airports remain closed to commercial flights.