Russia on Friday announced the shooting down of a Ukrainian drone over Moscow’s western suburbs at a time when drone-based air strikes on the Russian capital are on the rise.
“The Kiev regime’s attempt to carry out a terrorist attack with an unmanned aerial vehicle on a Moscow installation was foiled,” the Russian defense ministry said, adding that there were no damages or casualties.
According to Moscow, “the drone electronically shut down and crashed into a forest in western Moscow”.
The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, said debris fell in the Karamyshevskaya area, where emergency services were called.
Earlier, Sobyanin stated that the drone crashed “without causing any casualties or serious damage”.
A situation that led the Russian authorities to apply restrictions at Vnukovo International Airport, in Moscow, whose airspace was closed. According to the state news agency RIA Novosti, the restrictions were lifted an hour later.
⚡ An explosion took place in it #Moscow
A drone exploded near the Karamyshevskaya embankment. pic.twitter.com/lHfW8BE11D
– NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 11, 2023
The mayor of Moscow commented on the explosion in the Russian capital
“An attempt was made to fly one drone over the city. As a result of the air defense work, it was eliminated. No one was injured when debris fell in the area of the Karamyshevskaya embankment. There are no serious … pic.twitter.com/T3kCyse519
– NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 11, 2023
Vnukovo airport authorities said they temporarily suspended operations at the terminal for reasons beyond their control, which resumed before the drone was shot down.
To ensure aviation safety, several flights were diverted to other airports in the Russian capital.
Vnukovo, located in the south of Moscow, has suspended operations several times in recent weeks due to drone attacks on the capital.
On Thursday, a similar incident led to the temporary closure of both Vnukovo and Domodedovo, another of Moscow’s three main airports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on July 30 that the war was “gradually returning to the territory of Russia, to its symbolic centers and military bases”.
“It is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” he said at the time.
Source: DN
