The ‘attempted terrorist assault’ on the Russian capital left one person injured and caused damage to the facades on two office buildings, according to officials.
Airport closed, flights redirected
According to a Russian state news source, Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport was blocked to traffic after the mayor claimed a drone attack had struck a structure.
According to a Russian state news outlet, Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport was momentarily blocked to traffic early on Sunday after the mayor of the city said Ukrainian drones had struck structures in the capital. Three Ukrainian drones were reportedly shot down above Moscow, according to the Russian defense ministry.
“Electronic Warfare”- Russia
But in less than an hour, it seemed like everything was back to normal at the airport. Russia, meanwhile, described the recent drone assault as a terrorist attempt. One drone was shot down, according to Russia, while two more were “suppressed by electronic warfare” and fell into a building complex.
The intended terrorist strike on Moscow-area landmarks by the Kyiv government using unmanned aerial vehicles was “thwarted,” the Russian defense ministry announced on Telegram. One Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was reportedly destroyed in the air over the Odintsovo neighborhood of Moscow, according to the Russian defense ministry.
According to rescue personnel and the Russian state news service Tass, a security guard
was hurt.
Previous incidents
At the same Moscow airport earlier this month, a slew of drone assaults hampered air travel. That evening, according to Russia, five Ukrainian drones were shot down. According to the Russian foreign ministry, such strikes “would not be possible without the assistance provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and its NATO allies.”
The news broke a day after Russia claimed to have shot down two missiles over the Ukrainian border in its southern Rostov area. The city of Taganrog was hit by debris, injuring at least 16 people.
Later, as debris landed in an unpopulated region, Russia claimed it had shot down an S-200 missile near the city of Azov. On Saturday, Two individuals were killed by a Russian attack in Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia.
According to TASS, no flights entered or left the southern airport of the city, Vnukovo, for approximately an hour, and all aircraft were temporarily barred from the air space over Moscow including the surrounding areas.
Since then, such limitations have been relaxed.
A roadway near the collision scene in the Moscow City region has also been closed to traffic by the authorities.
Ukraine’s Response
Officials from Ukraine did not immediately respond with any comments.
Prior to multiple drone assaults this year, Moscow and its surroundings, which are located approximately 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, had seldom ever been targeted during the crisis in Ukraine, according to news agency AFP.
The drone attack on Sunday is the most recent in a string of recent drone strikes that Moscow has attributed to Kiev, including raids on the Kremlin and Russian cities close to the Ukrainian border.
As Russia’s conflict in Ukraine enters its 18th month, this attack—the third this week—was the capital region’s fourth such attempt at a strike this month. This has raised fears about Moscow’s susceptibility to strikes.
Additionally, it occurs a few weeks into a Ukrainian battle to retake land that Russia has occupied since beginning an extensive offensive in February 2022.
