Flight chaos in Russia as all Moscow airports closed amid Ukrainian drone strike – with one attack close to the home of Putin’s top propagandist
- The suspected Ukrainian attack forces Moscow airports to temporarily close
- Kiev usually does not comment on attacks that have taken place in Russia
Moscow airports have plunged into chaos and all outgoing and incoming fighting has been postponed following a suspected kamikaze drone attack from Ukraine.
All airports in the Russian capital were temporarily closed on Monday after the Russian defense ministry claimed a Kiev drone was shot down over the capital.
Explosions were heard in the skies over the city as Kremlin air defenses attacked the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) reportedly aimed at Moscow.
A drone came down near the sprawling mansion of pro-Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, 43, head of the state media empire RT, and a pro-war fanatic.
Video footage shot throughout the city appeared to show a trail of air defense missiles and a drone exploding as gray smoke engulfed the surrounding sky.
A video from Shot Media showed a drone exploding when it was hit during an air defense strike over Moscow on Monday
A drone came down near the sprawling mansion of pro-Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, 43, head of the state media empire RT, and a pro-war fanatic. She is pictured with Putin
“The drone shot down in Istra district fell on the street next to us,” said propagandist Simonyan.
“Thanks to our air defense, there were no casualties,” she said.
A video from Shot Media clearly showed a drone exploding when it was hit during an air defense strike.
The Russian Defense Ministry said an aircraft-style drone was shot down over the Istra district of the Moscow region at 8:16 am.
Ukraine – which typically does not comment on attacks on Russian territory – did not immediately comment on the suspected attempted drone attack.
Earlier, a drone was shot down by electronic warfare and crash-landed on a street near the village of Pokrovskoye, in the Ruzsky district of the Moscow region.
There was no independent verification of Russian claims of no damage.
Hundreds of flights were diverted or delayed from all four of Moscow’s major airports – Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky – as the airspace around the capital was closed under the so-called “Carpet Regime,” a contingency plan for incoming drones.
An explosion was pictured over Moscow on Monday as airports plunged into chaos amid the suspected Ukrainian attack
Video footage shot across the city appears to show a trail of air defense missiles and a drone exploding as gray smoke engulfs the sky around it
Video footage and images appeared to show a trail of air defense missiles after the suspected Ukrainian attack
At least four planes bound for Domodedovo were diverted to Kazan, some 500 miles to the east.
A pilot told the passengers, “All airports in Moscow are closed.”
Russian media quoted a Domodedovo airport spokesman as saying flights were restricted “to ensure additional flight safety measures.”
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin posted: “Air defense forces shot down a drone while trying to fly to Moscow. No damage or casualties.’
Airports were closed for two hours during the attacks. Then normal operations resumed.
Moscow’s airports have plunged into chaos and all outgoing and incoming fighting has been delayed as Russian air defense missiles (smoke trail pictured) scrambled to intercept the attack.
Russian media quoted a spokesman for Domodedovo airport (pictured) as saying flights were restricted flights “to ensure additional flight safety measures”
Airports, including Vnukovo in Moscow, were closed for two hours during the attacks. Then normal operations resumed
Trains also fell into chaos around Moscow Kyivsky station after an apparent sabotage attack on signaling and switching equipment in Solnechnay.
“Trains in both directions are significantly behind schedule,” said a report.
The Netherlands and Denmark have indicated their willingness to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, provided certain conditions are met.
The additional supply of aircraft would be a long-awaited addition to Ukraine’s armed forces and defense capabilities.
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