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Russia Downs Drone Heading for Moscow

A Russian anti-aircraft system. Russian Defense Ministry

Russian air defenses destroyed a drone on its approach to Moscow, the city's mayor said Thursday morning.

Air defense systems in the Voskresensky district, located around 60 kilometers from the Russian capital, "destroyed a drone flying toward Moscow," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app.

He did not specify where the drone had come from.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in a later statement that the drone was Ukrainian.

There were no casualties or damage, according to initial reports, and emergency services were on the scene, Sobyanin said.

The independent online news outlet Medizona, citing flight timetable data, reported that over 100 flights at Moscow airports had been delayed amid the drone's attempted flight toward the city. 

Vnukovo International Airport imposed flight restrictions Thursday morning and redirected some flights that were en route to the Russian capital, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

On Wednesday, several Russian regions were targeted in a large-scale overnight drone attack, including the Pskov region near the border with Estonia, where a Ukrainian drone damaged at least two military planes at an airport.

The airport, roughly 700 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, had resumed regular service as of Thursday morning, Russia's aviation agency said.

AFP contributed to this reporting.

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