Mass drone attack on Moscow grounds flights at region's airports
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Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Dozens of Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow overnight on Nov. 12-13, disrupting flight operations at several of the region's major airports, according to Russian officials.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that Russian air defense units intercepted over 100 drones bound for the capital between 9:34 p.m. and 2:08 a.m. local time. As of publication, Sobyanin has claimed 105 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down.
Russian officials only report on drones they say were intercepted, so the exact number of drones launched at Moscow overnight is not known.
Emergency crews have been dispatched to areas impacted by falling drone wreckage, Sobyanin said. No details have been reported regarding specific damages or casualties.
The Kyiv Independent could not confirm Sobyanin's claims at the time of publication.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced restrictions in flight operations at Moscow Oblast's Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports.
These facilities "are accepting and dispatching flights subject to agreement with the relevant authorities" due to temporary airspace restrictions in the region, the agency said.
Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted aviation operations over Moscow multiple times in recent weeks.
Flights at all four main airports were grounded during an overnight attack on Oct. 23. 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 Oct. 22. Sobyanin claimed that over 600 drones were launched at the region overnight.
Earlier in the month, Sobyanin reported that Moscow Oblast came under the largest drone attack the region had seen in the past two years. Ukraine allegedly fired 650 drones at the region on Oct. 6, causing a fire at a major oil facility.
