Key facts
- Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said air defense intercepted over 100 drones bound for the capital between 9:34 p.m. and 2:08 a.m. local time.
- Sobyanin claimed 105 drones were shot down and said emergency crews went to areas hit by falling wreckage.
- Rosaviatsiya announced flight restrictions at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports in Moscow Oblast.
- The Kyiv Independent said it could not confirm Sobyanin's claims, and no damage or casualty details were reported.
Dozens of Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow overnight on November 12 to 13, disrupting flight operations at several airports in the region, according to Russian officials. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Russian air defense units intercepted more than 100 drones bound for the capital between 9:34 p.m. and 2:08 a.m. local time. As of publication, Sobyanin claimed 105 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down.
Russian officials report only on drones they say were intercepted, so the number launched at Moscow overnight is not known. Sobyanin said emergency crews were dispatched to areas affected by falling drone wreckage. No details were reported on specific damage or casualties, and The Kyiv Independent said it could not confirm Sobyanin's claims at the time of publication.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced restrictions in flight operations at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports in Moscow Oblast. The agency said the facilities were accepting and dispatching flights subject to agreement with the relevant authorities because of temporary airspace restrictions in the region.
Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted aviation operations over Moscow multiple times in recent weeks, according to the report. Flights at all four main airports were grounded during an overnight attack on October 23, and photos later emerged on social media that allegedly showed debris from a downed drone on the tarmac at Sheremetyevo, Moscow's largest airport. The previous night, Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack against the region, striking a weapons plant in Moscow Oblast on October 22, and Sobyanin claimed more than 600 drones were launched at the region overnight. Earlier in the month, Sobyanin said Moscow Oblast came under the largest drone attack the region had seen in the past two years, with 650 drones allegedly fired at the region on October 6, causing a fire at a major oil facility.