Wave of drones target Moscow again, prompting further airport closures

Editor's note: The article has been updated to reflect the latest number of drones shot down. An earlier version said that the mayor had reported three were shot down.

Russian air defense forces allegedly intercepted several Ukrainian drones headed toward Moscow, the city's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on May 7, becoming the latest in a wave of drone incursions targeting the Russian capital ahead of Victory Day celebrations.

"Air defense forces of the Defense Ministry repelled another drone attack on Moscow," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram, noting that debris fell in multiple areas where emergency crews are now working. He later confirmed that at least seven drones were shot down over the course of the evening.

The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify these claims.

Earlier today, Ukrainian drones targeted the Bazalt plant in Krasnoarmeysk, Moscow Oblast, Russia’s primary manufacturer of munitions and weaponry for all branches of its military. Simultaneously, another strike hit the Splav plant in Tula, a city located about 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Moscow.

The strikes, according to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), triggered heightened alert measures across Moscow Oblast, forcing Russian authorities to enact “Plan Cover,” a security protocol that includes grounding civilian air traffic.

Airports across Moscow and the surrounding oblast temporarily shut down, stranding thousands of passengers and forcing airlines to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights on May 7.

This latest wave of drones prompted renewed temporary airport closures across the region. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency announced that flight operations were suspended from 7:15 p.m. local time at Domodedovo Airport, the biggest one in Moscow, as well as at Zhukovsky, and Kaluga airports, whose operations were suspended earlier.

The attacks come amid tight security in the run-up to the May 9 Victory Day parade, a key Kremlin propaganda event. The Kremlin uses the parade to showcase its military power and invoke Soviet World War II victories to justify its aggression against Ukraine.

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The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk