Major disruption was unleashed overnight as Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks targeting Moscow region. To counteract this event, Moscow authorities temporarily closed four of their major airports–Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukhovsky–causing flight delays, diversions, and passenger congestion across them all.
Russian air defense systems, including S-300 and Pantsir missile batteries, engaged multiple incoming drones over multiple regions. According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, at least two or three drones were intercepted over Moscow itself, prompting precautionary halting of flights at Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports for safety measures. Reuters
Officials reported later turning back a larger wave: the defense ministry reported shooting down up to 27 drones daily between 1500-1900 GMT, including at least four over Greater Moscow (Reuters).
Rosaviatsia issued statements confirming that Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports had been temporarily closed for arrivals and departures due to security reasons, only later reopening when skies had been declared safe, according to The Sun and Reuters reports.
Eyewitness reports and Russian state media noted that all four major airports — Sheremetyevo and Zhukhovsky included — imposed temporary restrictions as the strikes intensified late July 20, according to Reddit, The New Voice of Ukraine, The Sun, etc.
Flight data indicates that more than 130 flights were diverted to alternate airports such as St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo and many passengers stranded or forced to spend the night at Moscow terminals where staff provided temporary cots and bedding amid chaos, such as YouTube/The Sun/ABC News etc..
“Emergency measures were essential to civil aviation safety,” Rosaviatsia concluded in an official release made available to ABC News, The Kyiv Independent and Reuters.
Residents in Moscow’s northern suburb of Zelenograd were alarmed to hear explosions as defense systems intercepted drones within its airspace, sparking small fires across residential buildings and setting two vehicles ablaze in one courtyard, possibly caused by falling drone fragments, according to local news channels and social media reports. Local Telegram channels reported debris tearing through residential buildings and sparking small fires before two cars in one courtyard caught on fire due to falling debris presumably coming from drone fragments; according to Reddit +5 +5
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Another residential district, Golube, experienced shaking and broken windows due to the interceptions – according to Kyiv Post and The Sun respectively.
The Kremlin has generally avoided publicly acknowledging Ukrainian involvement but nonetheless confirmed incidents through its defense and aviation ministries, while tightening domestic internet restrictions further. These moves, however, have raised concern for prolonged connectivity outages near borders as officials justify these restrictions as essential in disrupting drone navigation systems; such moves have also generated outrage on YouTube, AP News, The Sun as they all refer to such disruption as essential.
Analysts speculate that Ukraine’s operation in Moscow area is part of a wider strategy to undermine Russia’s civilian infrastructure–not only military installations but also transportation networks–according to The Sun.
This latest drone assault follows months of mutual aerial strikes – Russia recently deployed more than 700 drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities while Ukraine expanded their attack to include strategic Russian locations, according to The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com).
Drone warfare escalates amid faltering peace negotiations and mounting international sanctions.
Both sides maintain that their drone strikes comply with international law and focus on military targets rather than civilian ones; nonetheless, frequent airport closures and disruptions to essential services show how this conflict is now having serious repercussions on everyday life in Moscow and elsewhere.
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