South24 Center (Aden)

Russia on Thursday (August 13) criticized the bombing of the runway at Sana’a International Airport during the latest round of escalation in Yemen, describing the response by the Saudi-led coalition as “disproportionate.” It also called for the complete lifting of what it described as the “maritime, air and land blockade” on Yemen.

Speaking during a UN Security Council session on Yemen, Russia’s representative to the United Nations, Dina Gilmutdinova, said flights that arrived in areas under Houthi control “certainly should have been coordinated in advance with the official Yemeni authorities.”

She added that “the exceptionally harsh response of the Arab Coalition, in the form of airstrikes on the runway of Sana’a International Airport, appears disproportionate,” citing the airport’s civilian and humanitarian importance to the population.

The Russian representative also called for “the complete lifting of the maritime, air and land blockade of Yemen” and for restrictions on the delivery of food, medicine and other essential goods to the country to be removed.

At the same time, Moscow stressed the need to guarantee freedom of navigation and said it condemns any actions that endanger commercial shipping. It also called on the parties to the conflict to refrain from expanding military operations and to return to negotiations.

The Russian remarks came during a Security Council session in which members heard a briefing from UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, who warned that Yemen today faces a more serious risk of returning to large-scale conflict than at any point since the UN-mediated truce in 2022.

Grundberg said military activity had intensified along the frontlines, noting that recent Houthi attacks in Marib, Hadramout, Al-Mokha and elsewhere had caused casualties among both military personnel and civilians.

He added that renewed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden risk drawing Yemen deeper into the wider regional confrontation. He noted that tensions had already escalated in July following an unauthorized flight from Tehran toward Sana’a, which was followed by airstrikes on Sana’a airport and then missile attacks on Abha airport and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The UN envoy called for immediate de-escalation, an end to cross-border attacks and threats against shipping, and efforts toward a ceasefire. He also called for the resumption of oil exports and commercial flights to and from Sana’a airport, while ensuring that commercial vessels continue to reach Yemeni ports.

Grundberg further called for relaunching an inclusive, Yemeni-owned political process under UN auspices, warning that “four years of calm can be lost in a few weeks of escalation.”

In other interventions, the United States said the landing of an Iranian aircraft without the Yemeni government’s approval and carrying Iranian personnel constituted a “flagrant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty.” Washington accused the Houthis of threatening regional stability and global trade and reaffirmed its support for the Yemeni government.

Britain also held the Houthis responsible for the escalation and called on Iran to end its support for the group, while Pakistan condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and maritime shipping. China called for addressing the Yemen crisis within the context of wider regional tensions, while representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Liberia urged actors in Aden and the southern governorates to resolve political tensions through dialogue.