Key points
- On July 7, Putin fired Transport Minister Roman Starovoit after the collapse at Russian airports.
- The reasons for the dismissal were not officially announced; the likely candidate for the post is Deputy Minister Andrei Nikitin.
Putin fired Transport Minister Roman Starovoit / Collage 24 Kanal, photo Russian media
The day before, due to restrictions in Russian airspace, airports collapsed – almost 300 flights were cancelled. Finally, on Monday, July 7, it became known that Transport Minister Roman Starovoit had been dismissed.
The corresponding order has already been signed by the Russian dictator. The document was published on the Kremlin website, 24 Kanal reports.
What is known about the dismissal
The reasons for Starovoit's resignation have not yet been officially explained. However, Russian media, citing their own sources, claim that the transport collapse is not involved, since the change of the transport minister was allegedly prepared for several months.
The most likely candidate for the post is considered to be the current deputy minister, former governor of the Novgorod region Andrei Nikitin .
Interestingly, Starovoit has held the post of head of the Russian Ministry of Transport since May 2024, and before that, since October 2018, he headed the Kursk region. He was replaced as head of the region by Alexey Smirnov, who was arrested in April 2025 in a case of “kickbacks” during the construction of fortifications on the border with Ukraine.
By the way, according to Rosaviatsia, in the period from July 5 to 7, airlines cancelled 485 flights, 88 flights were diverted to alternate airfields, and 1,900 flights were delayed on departure and arrival.
As a result, 43,000 forced ticket returns were processed, 94,000 people were accommodated in hotels, and the amount of vouchers provided for drinks and food amounted to 354,000 rubles.
