Russia downs five Ukrainian drones in Moscow region, says attack 'terrorist' act by Kyiv

Five Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russia on Tuesday in the Moscow area, which it described as a “terrorist act” that interfered with the operation of the Vnukovo international airport.

“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,” AFP quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Telegram.

The Russian military said that there was no damage or casualties.

Four drones were destroyed by anti-air defence systems while a fifth was neutralised by “electronic means” before crashing, it added.

Emergency services cited by the RIA Novosti news agency said one of the drones was neutralised at Kubinka, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Vnukovo, whose functioning was briefly interrupted by the attack.

Several flights were redirected to other airports and Russia’s air transport agency said traffic at Vnukovo resumed at 0500 GMT.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said that other airports in Moscow and the Moscow region were operating normally.

State-run agency RIA Novosti also reported that two drones had been downed near the village of Valuevo in New Moscow, citing emergency services.

The drones had fallen into an “open field” and no casualties had been reported, it said.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin called it “another Ukrainian drone attack attempt.”

Drone attacks have hit Russian cities throughout Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, but have intensified in recent months.

Moscow and its environs, lying some 500 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, have up to now been rarely targeted.

In early May, two drones were shot down above the Kremlin, and later the same month drones hit Moscow high-rises.

Kyiv said early Tuesday that Russia had launched 22 Iranian “Shahed” attack drones at the Sumy, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Its forces had “destroyed” 16 of the drones, it said.

With inputs from agencies

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