Ukrainian Drones Launch Massive Attack on Russia, Suspending Operations in All Moscow Airports

Overnight on October 16, Ukrainian drones attacked several parts of Russia, including Moscow, the Moscow region, Vladimir, and Rostov region, where a fire broke out at an industrial facility.

The monitoring outlet Exilenova+ and Russian officials reported the incidents.

In the Moscow region, residents reported a fire following a series of explosions. Amid the attack, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency temporarily suspended operations at all four Moscow airports: Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, and Sheremetyevo. More than 20 aircraft were diverted to alternate airfields.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defenses had shot down 94 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital between 11 p.m. on October 15 and 8 a.m. on October 16.

Numerous explosions were also heard in Vladimir. Unconfirmed reports circulated on social media of a possible repeat attack on a data center operated by Russian tech company Yandex.

In Russia’s Rostov region, drone attacks damaged production and warehouse facilities, sparking a fire.

According to ASTRA, explosions and Russian air defense activity were also reported by residents of Smolensk and Ryazan. Meanwhile, the highest danger level was declared in the Yaroslavl region due to the UAV threat, and the road from Yaroslavl to Moscow was temporarily closed.