Moscow airports briefly closed after Ukraine drone assaults

[ad_1] Kathryn Armstrong BBC Information

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e257/live/59714e00-6567-11f0-886c-f7e6126e55f6.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="EPA/Shutterstock Passengers examine departure table waiting their flights at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside Moscow, Russia, 07 July 2025. " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> EPA/Shutterstock Airports within the Moscow area have been disrupted a number of instances in latest months resulting from Ukrainian air assaults (latest picture)

A sustained Ukrainian drone assault on Russia induced Moscow's main airports to be briefly closed and noticed no less than 140 flights cancelled, officers stated.

Greater than 230 Ukrainian drones had been downed over Russia since Saturday morning - together with 27 over the capital - in response to the Russian defence ministry.

Based on Russia's aviation watchdog, the 4 main airports serving the capital had been disrupted and greater than 130 flights additionally needed to be redirected. All have since resumed regular operations.

In the meantime, no less than three folks had been killed throughout Russian air strikes on Ukraine in a single day, in response to regional officers.

Russia's Affiliation of Tour Operators (Ator) stated on Sunday that Moscow airports had been closed 10 instances in 24 hours as a result of strikes.

The Kaluga area, southwest of Moscow, was additionally affected. Russia's defence ministry stated it had intercepted 45 drones since Saturday morning, leading to Kaluga Worldwide Airport additionally being briefly closed.

Russia's defence ministry stated drones had been additionally shot down over areas close to the Ukrainian border together with Rostov and Bryansk, in addition to over the Black Sea. No fatalities had been reported.

This isn't the primary time that Ukrainian drone assaults have induced journey disruption in Russia. In Could, no less than 60,000 passengers had been stranded at airports throughout the nation after Kyiv launched greater than 500 drones in a 24-hour interval, in response to Russia's defence ministry.

Regional officers in Ukraine stated two folks died after Russian air strikes in numerous elements of Donetsk, whereas a 78-year-old lady died after residential buildings burned down in Sumy.

Ukraine's air power stated it shot down 18 out of 57 Russian drones in a single day into Sunday, whereas an additional seven drones had been misplaced after their radars had been jammed.

In addition to Sumy and Donetsk, different front-line areas of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk had been attacked, as was Zaporizhzhia.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6607/live/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Donetsk Regional State Administration A person in a helmet stands looking at a damaged building" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Donetsk Regional State Administration A number of houses had been broken or destroyed in a single day in Donetsk resulting from a Russian assault

The most recent assaults come because the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was prepared to maneuver in direction of a peace settlement with Ukraine however that Moscow's precedence was to "obtain our objectives".

"President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his need to convey the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceable conclusion as quickly as doable. This can be a lengthy course of, it requires effort, and it's not simple," he stated in a televised interview.

It has been almost three-and-a-half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a brand new spherical of talks with Moscow, aimed toward restarting negotiations that halted final month.

Earlier makes an attempt by Russia and Ukraine to barter an finish to the preventing have failed to realize a ceasefire, however have resulted in prisoner swaps.

Zelensky additionally repeated his readiness to satisfy Russia's Vladimir Putin face-to-face, saying: "A gathering on the management degree is required to really guarantee peace."

Ukraine was this week given a lift when US President Donald Trump - who has previously typically expressed assist and admiration for Russia's chief - introduced that the US would ship "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine by way of Nato international locations.

Trump additionally threatened Russia with extreme tariffs if a deal to finish the struggle will not be reached inside 50 days, and later informed the BBC that he was "dissatisfied" with Putin however "not accomplished".