Russian airports closed amid alleged Ukrainian balloon and drone raid
- On October 9, 2026, all four Moscow airports—Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky—suspended flight operations following a reported drone attack. Restrictions took effect at 3:40 p.m. and lasted until 6:40 p.m.
- Authorities imposed restrictions after reports of drones and small reconnaissance balloons approaching the capital, prompting activation of the 'Cover' contingency plan. Yaroslavl region authorities claimed Russian forces shot down balloons allegedly launched from Ukraine.
- The disruption affected hundreds of flights, with more than 200 delayed and around 100 canceled, according to Informator. Incoming aircraft were redirected to alternate airports including Saint Petersburg, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod.
- Circling over Moscow, several Rossiya Special Flight Detachment aircraft returning from Turkmenistan were forced to divert. One Il-96 failed to land at Vnukovo and instead flew to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned in September that Russian airspace was becoming dangerous due to drone activity. This incident follows a broader campaign of drone strikes targeting infrastructure, including Yandex data centers.
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Closes down the airspace – may not leave: "Necessary"
The Russian Federal Aviation Agency (Rosaviation) has closed all four Moscow airports due to a Ukrainian drone strike.
With more than a hundred hours of paralysis in two weeks, Moscow's airports are experiencing record disruptions. Behind this unprecedented airblock is the Ukrainian drone offensive guided by...
Russia Just Got Hit With a New Military Problem: Ukraine Launched Nearly 500 Drones as Moscow Closes the Airports
Russia says nearly five hundred Ukrainian drones headed toward Moscow overnight, forcing the city’s airports to suspend flights, while Sberbank confirmed a strike on a data center meant to host Russia’s largest supercomputer. Zelensky says Russian attacks hit thirty Ukrainian energy facilities and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.
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