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Moscow airports temporarily shut amid Ukraine's drone attack on Russia

Moscow airports temporarily shut amid Ukraine's drone attack on Russia

Indian Express3 days ago
Ukraine's sustained drone attack on Russia led to airports in Moscow to be temporarily shut which caused at least 140 flights to be canceled, authorities said. The Russian defence ministry stated that more than 230 Ukrainian drones were destroyed in the country since Saturday morning, including 27 over the capital Moscow.
Russia's aviation watchdog stated that more than 130 flights had to be diverted as flight operations at four major airports serving the capital were disrupted. However, the airports have since resumed normal operations.
Meanwhile, regional officials said that at least three people were killed in Ukraine during Russian air strikes on Kyiv overnight. According to Russia's Association of Tour Operators (Ator), the airports in the country had to be shut at least 10 times in 24 hours due to the strikes.
The Ukrainian drone attacks also affected Russia's Kaluga region, situated southwest of Moscow as the Russian defence ministry stated that they intercepted 45 Ukrainian drones since Saturday morning, which led to Kaluga International Airport being temporarily shut.
The defence ministry added that drones were shot down in the region near Ukrainian borders including Rostov, Bryansk and over Black Sea. The authorities said that no fatalities were reported in the attacks.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force said it shot down 18 of 57 Russian drones overnight on Sunday and seven other drones were lost after their radars got jammed. The retaliation by Russia led to attacks in Sumy, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia.
Amid the latest round of attacks, Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for a peace settlement with Ukraine but Moscow's priority lies in achieving its goals.
'President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,' Peskov said in an interview, reported BBC.
(with inputs from BBC)
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