Moscow airports Ukrainian drone threat prompted the temporary suspension of air traffic at three of the Russian capital’s four airports on January 4, according to Russian authorities.
Russia’s aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, said flight restrictions were imposed between 1pm and 2pm GMT to ensure aviation safety. The affected airports were Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky. All three partially reopened less than an hour later.
The closures caused multiple flight delays, including at Vnukovo, Moscow’s second-busiest airport, Russian media reported.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defenses intercepted at least 27 drones approaching the capital on the same day. He shared the updates through a series of posts on Telegram.
Ukraine, which has been targeted by repeated Russian drone strikes during the nearly four-year conflict, did not immediately comment on the reported incident.
Russia has periodically shut down airspace around Moscow and other regions since launching its full-scale military operation against Ukraine in 2022, citing drone threats and security concerns.
