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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287 Articles
Russia’s tax service runs on two key data centers. Drones went after one of them overnight, along with a chemical plant that supplies explosives makers
The data center in Gorodets stores state registers, including tax records, and opened in 2015 with Russia’s current prime minister on hand.
Ukrainian drones hit on Thursday night to Friday important infrastructure targets in two regions of Russia, writes The Moscow Times. In the city of Gorodez in the region of Nijni Novgorod was damaged the data center of the Federal Fiscal Service of the Russian Federation, and in the city of Berezniki in the region of Perm — factory "Azote, owned by ...
Flights suspended at major Moscow airports after Ukrainian drone attack
Moscow airports faced temporary flight suspensions Thursday following a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack. Russian air defenses engaged the drones, leading to evacuations and flight restrictions at Sheremetyevo and other capital airports. Hundreds of drones reportedly targeted Moscow and surrounding regions overnight, prompting heightened security.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones in the areas of Belgorod, Briansk, Leningrad and Moscow.
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