Ukrainian drones struck Russian airfields, prompting international airlines to reconsider continuing operations in Russia.

The world’s largest long-haul carrier, Emirates, says it plans to review its flights to Russia. This decision comes amid Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian soil, which have caused flight cancellations and route changes, according to company president Tim Clark, Bloomberg reports. 

He adds that the airline does not currently plan to reduce the number of flights but will monitor the situation closely.

“This latest event was a little more worrying. As things get a little bit more acute, if I can use that word, we’ll be reviewing all of this,” Clark notes. 

Clark also reveals that Emirates has developed “ironclad” contingency plans, including carrying enough fuel for pilots to exit Russian airspace or avoid landing near Moscow if necessary.

Emirates and Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus remain among the few foreign airlines still flying to Russia, while others abandoned this market after 24 February 2022.

Earlier, Oleh Katkov, editor-in-chief of Defense Express, said that Russia has no way to replace the aircraft it lost in the Operation Web. Among the lost jets, the Tu-160 supersonic missile carriers, developed during the Soviet era, are especially valuable.

Russia cannot produce new Tu-160s or Tu-95s — only repair Soviet-era ones, says expert after Ukraine’s historic Spiderweb operation

He noted that Russia has only about 18 of them left, and not a single one was built from scratch after the Soviet Union collapsed.

A Russian military train was blown up near the occupied town of Yakymivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast overnight on 31 May, damaging fuel wagons and a vital supply route used by Moscow’s forces to support occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency reported.

According to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, the explosion occurred on the railway line close to Yakymivka in the Melitopol district. The freight train, which included fuel tanks, was moving toward occupied Crimea when the blast hit. As a result, freight cars and tanker cars went off the rails, and the track was severely damaged.

HUR described the targeted section as “a key logistical artery of the Russians on the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Crimea.” The agency stated that this disruption undermines Moscow’s ability to maintain military logistics in the south.

In response to the attack, Russian occupation forces declared a standard police “interception plan” across the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, HUR reported. Authorities increased the number of military patrols in local settlements and intensified checks at checkpoints.

Recent attacks and incidents on Russian trains and infrastructure

On 25 May, Ukrainian military intelligence reported a drone strike on another Russian freight train transporting fuel in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Ukrainian drones hit Russian military train with fuel in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast (video)

That same evening, a train in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast was damaged after hitting an explosive device, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

In the early hours of 1 June, two bridge collapses occurred in Bryansk and Kursk oblasts. In Bryansk, a car bridge collapsed onto a passenger train, killing at least seven people. In Kursk, an accident on a railway bridge involving a freight train was reported, with no initial casualties mentioned.