Russian air defense systems destroyed at least 44 Ukrainian drones on approach to Moscow between Monday night and Tuesday morning, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The air barrage was the largest against the Russian capital since March, when Ukrainian strikes killed at least three people. Sobyanin said there were no reports of casualties or major damage, though emergency services were dispatched to sites hit by falling debris.
Flights at Sheremetyevo, Russia’s largest airport, were suspended for around four hours on Monday evening. Nearly 100 flights were canceled at the airport, while dozens of others were delayed.
Aeroflot said it was still working through delays and cancellations on Tuesday morning. Passengers posted videos of themselves waiting for hours in grounded aircraft or sleeping on mattresses in the Sheremetyevo terminal.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had shot down 81 Ukrainian drones over eight regions, including Moscow, annexed Crimea and the Black Sea, between Monday afternoon and midnight. It reported intercepting 69 more drones between midnight and 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Authorities in the southwestern Belgorod region said seven people were injured in separate Ukrainian drone strikes on Tuesday.
There was no immediate comment about the drone attacks from Ukraine, where authorities said Russian strikes killed two people overnight.
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