According to the Russian defense ministry, Ukraine has launched a drone strike on Moscow, forcing flights out of Vnukovo International Airport.
According to reports, five drones were employed in the attack on Tuesday, which also hit locations in the larger area surrounding the capital.
According to the defense ministry, all of the drones were shot down with no injuries or property damage.
Ukraine has not admitted to carrying out the allegedly malicious attack.
One of Moscow’s three international airports, Vnukovo, no longer has any restrictions. Among those impacted were flights from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.
According to the defence ministry, four of the drones flying in the Moscow region were shot down by air defence systems. A fifth was intercepted electronically before crashing.
“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,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.
Russian state media said one of the drones crashed in the town of Kubinka, which is roughly 36km (22 miles) from Vnukovo airport in the southwest of the city.
Another was reportedly shot down near the village of Valuevo, also near the airport.
This is however not the first drone attack to target Moscow. In May, Russia’s defence ministry said at least eight drones caused minor damage.
It was the first time the city had been targeted by multiple drones since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and came after Moscow blamed Kyiv for a drone attack on the Kremlin.
Ukraine denied responsibility for both incidents.
Tuesday’s drone attack comes after Ukraine launched its counter-offensive against Russia.
This has not yet achieved the sort of speed and momentum some had hoped for, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who previously acknowledged progress was slow.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian drone attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Monday has risen to three, according to the local mayor. Several other people were injured.
