Mass drone attack on Moscow shuts airports, diverts Turkish flights
Russian officials gave sharply differing drone counts as a mass overnight attack shut four Moscow airports and diverted flights from Turkey.
A mass drone attack targeted Moscow overnight into Tuesday, with Russian officials giving differing figures for how many drones were involved. Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin initially said air defences had shot down 20 drones approaching the capital, APA Azerbaijan reported, while Kyiv Post later cited Sobyanin as saying 493 drones headed toward Moscow in total, of which 180 were destroyed as they approached the city.
Moscow's Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports suspended operations because of the drone threat, Kyiv Post reported. Vnukovo remained closed for more than eight hours, and passengers were asked to leave their aircraft while the airport was shut. Restrictions at Vnukovo forced 10 flights arriving from Turkey to change course, APA Azerbaijan reported.
Sobyanin said emergency crews were working at sites where drone debris had fallen, but did not report casualties or damage in the capital itself. Russia's defence ministry said 902 Ukrainian drones in total were shot down over Russian regions overnight, a nationwide figure separate from, and far larger than, the count given for the Moscow area alone.
Elsewhere in the same overnight wave, one person was killed and several residential buildings were damaged in Balakovo, in Saratov Oblast, regional governor Roman Busargin said. One of the damaged buildings stood about three kilometres from the city's combined heat and power plant, according to an OSINT analysis by Russian outlet Astra, cited by Kyiv Post. Ukrainian monitoring channels reported possible strikes on a Sberbank data centre and a metallurgical plant in Balakovo's industrial zone, though neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials have confirmed this.
Separately, an oil terminal fire continued burning in Rostov-on-Don, with at least eight storage tanks reportedly affected, OSINT analysts said, according to Kyiv Post. Russian authorities have not given an official account of the terminal fire or confirmed how it started.
The attack came as US President Donald Trump declined to blame Russia for violating a recently announced energy-infrastructure ceasefire, saying instead that Ukrainian forces had struck targets on Russian territory the night before, Portuguese broadcaster Observador reported, citing Kyiv Independent.
What we know
- 2+ outlets · Kyiv Post, Sobyanin Drone counts for the Moscow attack differ: Sobyanin initially said 20 were shot down; Kyiv Post later cited him giving a total of 493 drones headed toward the city, with 180 destroyed en route.
- 2+ outlets · APA Azerbaijan, Observador +1 Four Moscow airports suspended operations; Vnukovo was closed for more than eight hours, and 10 flights from Turkey had to change course.
- 2+ outlets · APA Azerbaijan, Kyiv Post Russia's defence ministry said 902 drones were shot down nationwide overnight, a separate, larger figure covering all Russian regions.
- 1 outlet · Kyiv Post One person was killed and several homes were damaged in Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, the regional governor said.
- 1 outlet · Kyiv Post An oil terminal fire continued in Rostov-on-Don, with at least eight tanks reportedly affected, OSINT analysts said.
- Official · Observador Trump declined to blame Russia for the ceasefire dispute, instead pointing to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, Observador reported.
Not yet confirmed
- Unconfirmed Reported strikes on a Sberbank data centre and a steel plant in Balakovo's industrial zone, per Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+; not confirmed by officials on either side.
- Unconfirmed The extent of damage to the oil terminal in Rostov-on-Don and how the fire there started.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Why it matters for Europe
Drone strikes reaching Moscow's own airports show how the war continues to extend beyond Russia's border regions into the capital, more than four and a half years after the invasion began. The reported strikes on energy, data and industrial sites in Saratov and Rostov regions point to continued pressure on facilities tied to Russia's war economy, though Kyiv has not commented on the Balakovo or Rostov incidents, and the specific sites hit in Balakovo remain unconfirmed by officials on either side.
The timing feeds into a dispute over a US-brokered energy ceasefire: Trump has pointed to Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets, rather than blaming Moscow, for any breach of that truce, while Kyiv has said Russia has continued hitting its own energy grid despite the announced pause.
Sources
Reported by 4 reports from 4 independent outlets in 3 countries.
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Questions and answers
- How many drones were involved in the Moscow attack?
- Figures differ: Moscow's mayor initially said 20 were shot down, but was later cited giving a total of 493 drones headed toward the city, with 180 destroyed en route.
- Which airports were affected?
- Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky suspended operations; Vnukovo was closed for more than eight hours and 10 Turkey-bound flights had to divert.
- Were there casualties elsewhere in the same attack wave?
- Yes. One person was killed and several homes were damaged in Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, the regional governor said.
This article was written with AI assistance from 3 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.