Russia says Ukraine attacked Moscow with at least 5 drones
- Russia called it a ‘terrorist act’ that disrupted the functioning of the Vnukovo international airport
- Drone attacks have hit Russian cities throughout Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, but have intensified in recent months
Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had attacked Moscow with at least five drones that were all either shot down or jammed, though one of the capital’s main airports had to reroute flights for several hours.
Four Ukrainian drones were shot down by Moscow air defences while a fifth was jammed and crashed into the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region, the Russian defence ministry said. No one was injured.
Russian news agencies reported that two drones were intercepted near a village 30km (19 miles) southwest of the Kremlin. One drone was detected in the neighbouring Kaluga region.
Landings and take-offs at Moscow’s Vnukovo were restricted for several hours early on Tuesday before normal operations resumed. A number of flights from Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were diverted.
One drone was shot down in the area of the town of Kubinka, some 63km west of Moscow, RIA reported. A Russian airbase is near Kubinka.
Russia’s foreign and defence ministries denounced the attack as terrorism.