Drone Attacks Force Closure of Four Moscow Airports, Over 160 Flights Grounded

MOSCOW: All four major airports serving the Russian capital were forced into temporary shutdowns overnight following an intense wave of Ukrainian drone incursions, precipitating widespread aviation chaos and leading to the cancellation of more than 160 commercial flights.

Aviation authorities suspended operations across the Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky hubs as air defence units engaged incoming unmanned aerial vehicles heading toward the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that Russian military forces intercepted and brought down several hostile drones before they could strike critical infrastructure. While municipal authorities reported no direct ground casualties or structural damage within terminal precincts, federal air transport agency Rosaviatsia enforced emergency safety protocols, diverting dozens of inbound passenger flights to alternate runways hundreds of kilometres away.

The disruption underscores the escalating vulnerability of Russian logistical corridors to Ukrainian asymmetric aerial operations deep inside sovereign borders. The recurrent Moscow airport closures have created substantial commercial headaches for domestic carriers, triggered mounting financial losses, and disrupted travel for thousands of passengers. The incursions illustrate the expanding operational envelope of Kyiv’s drone fleet, which increasingly seeks to puncture the air defence canopy guarding the political and economic nucleus of the Russian Federation.

Aviation officials gradually lifted restrictions on Monday morning, though ground teams cautioned that rotational backlog and clearance delays would affect flight schedules throughout the remainder of the day. Military investigators have initiated forensic examinations of the recovered drone debris to map launch origins and payloads, while Moscow’s regional transport grid remains on elevated security watch for subsequent aerial incursions.