Ukrainian drone attacks force Moscow airport closures

Shafaq News/ A wave of Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted air traffic and triggered emergency responses across several Russian regions, including the capital Moscow, Russian authorities said on Sunday.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that Russian air defenses downed nine drones approaching the city by 0400 GMT. While no significant damage was reported, emergency teams were deployed to areas where drone debris had fallen.

The strikes forced the temporary closure of two of Moscow’s main airports—Vnukovo and Domodedovo—as a precautionary measure, according to Russia’s Civil Aviation Authority, Rosaviatsia.

Further south, in the Tula region, another drone attack ignited a brief fire at the Azot chemical plant, injuring two people. In the neighboring Kaluga region, seven additional drones were intercepted and destroyed.

Russia and Ukraine have increased their attacks in recent weeks amid renewed diplomatic contact to peace talks for the first time since the early phase of the war that began in February 2022.