Russia Temporarily Closes Moscow Airports After Wave of Ukrainian Drones

SadaNews - Russian authorities temporarily closed the four main airports in Moscow on Monday after intercepting a large wave of drones launched by Ukrainian forces.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated that air defense systems destroyed 59 drones heading toward the Russian capital, and aviation authorities announced the reopening of the airports later after a temporary suspension of flights.

The attack comes at a time when Kyiv has intensified its use of long-range drones in response to Russian strikes targeting its cities.

In Crimea, the head of the Moscow-appointed administration, Sergey Aksyonov, announced that four people were killed and 28 others injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kerch area.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its forces intercepted or shot down 407 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions, including the capital, Moscow, and the airspace over the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

In eastern Ukraine, authorities loyal to Russia in the Donetsk People's Republic reported that Ukrainian forces carried out 11 attacks in the past 24 hours, resulting in the deaths of two people and injuries to six others, including two children, according to official data.

Russian Attacks

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities announced that a 14-year-old boy was seriously injured in a Russian drone attack on the city of Hlukhiv in the northeastern Sumy region.

Oleh Hryhorov, head of the military administration of the region, stated that the attack caused damage to a five-story residential building and several private houses, leading to a fire in a residential area.

In the south of the country, the military administration in Odesa reported that Russian forces launched a ballistic missile strike using an "Iskander" missile targeting an agricultural facility, resulting in one person dead and three others injured.

They added that the attack resulted in the destruction of a warehouse and fires in vehicles and fuel tanks.

Odesa also experienced power outages in large areas of the city center due to an emergency at the thermal power station, according to the city council, which confirmed that maintenance teams are working to restore power and complete repairs during the day.

On the international front, the Ukrainian news agency reported that German and French lawmakers intend to push for stricter measures against the so-called "shadow fleet" used by Russia to transport oil, including intensifying inspections and detaining ships that violate international regulations, as well as increasing diplomatic pressure on the countries that flag those ships.

The proposal is expected to be presented during a meeting of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly.

"No Response from Us at the United Nations"

Regarding the United Nations, Moscow has accused the international organization of not being neutral in dealing with the war in Ukraine.

Kirill Lugvinov, Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Russia is in regular contact with UN officials regarding what he described as the bias of the UN Secretariat in the Ukrainian crisis, adding that these Russian reservations "fall on deaf ears".

Lugvinov also urged the next UN Secretary-General to address what he considers an imbalance within the Secretariat and to end Western dominance in leadership positions, asserting that this reality undermines the organization's ability to play a mediating role in international conflicts and affects its neutrality and credibility.

Source: Agencies