Ukraine war: Major Moscow airport flights disrupted by drone attack

• Posted on July 4, 2023July 4, 2023
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Ukraine has launched a drone attack on Moscow, the Russian defence ministry says, forcing flights to be diverted from Vnukovo International Airport.

Five drones were reportedly used in Tuesday’s attack, which also targeted locations in the wider region around the capital.

The defence ministry said all the drones were shot down and there were no casualties or damage.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the alleged attack.

Restrictions at Vnukovo airport, one of Moscow’s three international airports, have now been lifted. Flights from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were among those affected.

According to the defence ministry, four of the drones flying in the Moscow region were shot down by air defence systems. A fifth was intercepted electronically before crashing.

“An attempt by the Kyiv regime to attack a zone where civil infrastructure is located, including an airport that receives international flights, is a new terrorist act,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

Telegram channel Shot reported that one of the drones, or fragments from it, fell on a building in the village of Krivosheino. The building then caught fire.

Russian state media said another drone crashed in Kubinka, which is roughly 36km (22 miles) from Vnukovo airport, which lies to the southwest of the city.

The BBC is trying to verify this information independently.

This is not the first drone attack to target Moscow. In May, Russia’s defence ministry said at least eight drones caused minor damange.

It was the first time the city had been targeted by multiple drones since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv denied responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian drone attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Monday has risen to three, according to the local mayor. Several other people were injured.

-BBC