President Volodymyr Zelenskyi believes that the lack of air links between Ukraine and the Russian Federation is unprofitable for Ukraine, but military operations in the Donbas must cease before it can be restored.
Zelenskyi stated this at a marathon news conference in Kyiv, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
"It is strange that our trains run but our planes do not fly. Our airlines are going bankrupt because of this. In principle, flights are subsidized. I can honestly say that we can nationalize our large company, and all owners will only be happy not to pay their debts, but we will not give them such happiness," Zelenskyi said.
According to him, this state of affairs is unprofitable for Ukraine, but "our people should want it."
"To take such steps, you need to meet, end the war. One of the important priorities is to at least stop killing and shooting. Unfortunately, this has not yet happened," he said.
As the CFTS reported previously, Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklyi believes that resumption of flights between Ukraine and Russia would be dangerous for Ukrainians and that "one needs to be in some kind of suicidal mood" to propose restoration of direct flights.
"As long as this country remains an aggressor, we are in a state of war and we do not want repetitions of flight MH17. It is simply dangerous for Ukrainians. It seems to me that one needs to be in some kind of suicidal mood to propose restoration of air links," he said.
