Around 250 Ukrainian drones downed on approach to Moscow in two days – mayor

Approximately 250 Ukrainian drones have been downed while targeting Moscow over the past two days, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said. The raids forced temporary flight halts at the Russian capital’s international airports.

Sobyanin posted the tally on Telegram on Monday, writing that air defense forces had eliminated the drones “directly on the approach to Moscow and at the second line of defense toward Moscow,” while thanking the military for its “professional and selfless work.” There have been no reports of casualties or major damage on the ground.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported separately that 145 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted between Sunday night and Monday morning. Of those, 53 were brought down over Moscow Region, including 46 heading directly for the capital. Another 38 were destroyed over Bryansk Region, and 11 over Yaroslavl Region, northeast of Moscow.

Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky airports all imposed temporary restrictions on arrivals and departures, citing flight safety grounds. All the airports had lifted the curbs by Monday morning.

Residents across Moscow Region reported hearing explosions during the overnight raids, with blasts audible in Odintsovo and Domodedovo districts, west and south of the capital. People in the cities of Istra and Dubna outside Moscow also reported the sound of drones flying overhead, the SHOT Telegram channel reported.

Ukraine has been routinely carrying out drone raids deep into Russia, with many targeting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. Russia designates such strikes as terrorism and has retaliated by striking Ukrainian defense-linked infrastructure, including power grid facilities. Moscow maintains that it never targets civilians.