A HUGE Ukrainian drone strike has forced Russia to shut all four of its major airports in a dramatic show of force against Moscow.
In the second consecutive night of aerial assaults on the capital, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia confirmed the airports were closed “to ensure safety” and only reopened hours later.
APVladimir Putin had to shut all four major Moscow airports after a huge Ukrainian drone blitz[/caption]
Several strikes hit different parts of the Russian capital overnightEast2West
At least three people were killed and five wounded as a result of a reported explosion in a Moscow highriseEast2West
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed before reaching the city “from different directions.”
He added: “Some of the debris had landed on one of the key highways into the city,” but claimed there were no casualties.
The attack sent shockwaves through the city as unverified reports by Russian military bloggers claimed apartment windows in southern Moscow had been shattered by blasts.
The airspace shutdown comes amid escalating cross-border hostilities.
Ukraine has not commented on the strikes, but the mayor of Kharkiv said Russia had simultaneously carried out its own drone attacks in his city and near Kyiv.
In Odesa, one person was killed in a Russian drone strike overnight, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper.
The drone war is intensifying.
On Monday night alone, Russia said it shot down 26 Ukrainian drones, while this latest wave has now hit multiple Russian regions, including Penza and Voronezh.
Meanwhile, fierce clashes erupted in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv claimed it struck a drone command unit near Tyotkino.
Ukraine’s general staff said: “Nine months after the start of the Kursk operation, Ukraine’s Defence Forces maintain a military presence on the territory of Russia’s Kursk region.”
Russian officials reported a major power outage in the town of Rylsk after an electrical substation was hit in another attack.
“Two transformers were damaged,” said acting governor Alexander Khinshtein, adding that “two teenagers had been injured by shrapnel from the blast.”
Military bloggers described dramatic scenes of Ukrainian forces “blowing up bridges with rockets” and storming the border in armoured vehicles.
“There is a heavy battle going on at the border,” wrote one under the handle RVvoenkor.
Ukrainian forces originally pushed into Kursk in August 2024 in a surprise incursion aimed at creating a buffer zone to protect the northeastern city of Sumy, just 12km from Tyotkino.
East2WestIt was Kyiv’s second consecutive night of aerial assaults on Moscow[/caption]
Apartments were shattered by the blastsEast2West
Civilians in the Sumy region are now also being told to evacuate two settlements.
It comes after Vladimir Putin unleashed a terrifying swarm of drones on Kyiv after the despot rejected a 30-day truce deal.
Russia‘s latest barbaric attack on the Ukrainian capital has left at least 11 injured – including two children.
The strikes from Moscow came just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky warned Kyiv won’t be “playing games” with peace.
Putin has imposed his own three-day ceasefire to coincide with Russia’s Victory Day parade next week.
Ukraine has rejected the offer and described it as typical Kremlin theatrics.
Instead, they called for a 30-day truce with Russia which Putin and his cronies have dully ignored.
ReutersFirefighters work at the site of a market in Kharkiv hit by a Russian drone strike[/caption]
ReutersA firefighter works at the site of the Barabashovo market[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
