A wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on targets inside western Russia briefly impacted air travel in Moscow and paralyzed rail transport in the Rostov region.
In an overnight attack that lasted just under eight hours, Russian air defenses “intercepted and eliminated” 74 Ukrainian drones, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
In a statement cited by Russia’s TASS news agency, the ministry said 23 incoming drones were successfully downed over the greater Moscow region, home to approximately 21.5 million people.
Varying numbers of drones were also shot down over Russia’s western Kursk, Rostov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula, and Lipetsk regions, the defense ministry said.
Although no significant damage was reported in the Moscow region, Russia’s civil aviation authority temporarily suspended flights at the region’s Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports.
Video footage released by Russian media showed passengers waiting in long lines at the Sheremetyevo airport, while others slept on the floor due to flight delays.
According to TASS, falling drone debris struck a railway facility in the western Rostov region, igniting a fire and causing delays to 26 passenger trains.
“Traffic through the Kamenolomny station [in Rostov] is proceeding at reduced speed,” the news agency reported, adding that emergency response teams had been sent to the affected area.
At the time of publication, Kyiv had yet to issue a statement on the reported attacks.
Kyiv’s nighttime drone strikes coincided with a Russian attack—involving both missiles and drones—on targets in several parts of Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, two people were killed in the Russian barrages and at least 15 others were injured.
“Rescue and emergency efforts are underway in our cities and communities following the Russian attack,” he wrote on X.
“Damage has been reported in Kyiv and the [Kyiv] region, as well as in the Kharkiv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.”
He said Russian drones had been intercepted over Ukraine’s Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava, and Kherson regions.
By Adam Morrow
