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EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\nKathryn Armstrong<\/p>\n
BBC News<\/p>\n
EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Airports in the Moscow region have been disrupted several times in recent months due to Ukrainian air attacks (recent image)<\/p>\n
A sustained Ukrainian drone attack on Russia caused Moscow’s major airports to be temporarily closed and saw at least 140 flights cancelled, officials said. <\/p>\n
More than 230 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia since Saturday morning – including 27 over the capital – according to the Russian defence ministry.<\/p>\n
According to Russia’s aviation watchdog, the four major airports serving the capital were disrupted and more than 130 flights also had to be redirected. All have since resumed normal operations. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at least three people were killed during Russian air strikes on Ukraine overnight, according to regional officials.<\/p>\n
Russia’s Association of Tour Operators (Ator) said on Sunday that Moscow airports were closed 10 times in 24 hours due to the strikes.<\/p>\n
The Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, was also affected. Russia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted 45 drones since Saturday morning, resulting in Kaluga International Airport also being temporarily closed.<\/p>\n
Russia’s defence ministry said drones were also shot down over regions near the Ukrainian border including Rostov and Bryansk, as well as over the Black Sea. No fatalities were reported. <\/p>\n
This is not the first time that Ukrainian drone attacks have caused travel disruption in Russia. In May, at least 60,000 passengers were stranded<\/a> at airports across the country after Kyiv launched more than 500 drones in a 24-hour period, according to Russia’s defence ministry. <\/p>\n Regional officials in Ukraine said two people died after Russian air strikes in different parts of Donetsk, while a 78-year-old woman died after residential buildings burned down in Sumy. <\/p>\n Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 18 out of 57 Russian drones overnight into Sunday, while a further seven drones were lost after their radars were jammed.<\/p>\n As well as Sumy and Donetsk, other front-line areas of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk were attacked, as was Zaporizhzhia. <\/p>\n Several homes were damaged or destroyed overnight in Donetsk due to a Russian attack<\/p>\n The latest attacks come as the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to move towards a peace settlement with Ukraine but that Moscow’s priority was to “achieve our goals”. <\/p>\n “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,” he said in a televised interview.<\/p>\n It has been nearly three-and-a-half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new round of talks with Moscow<\/a>, aimed at restarting negotiations that halted last month.<\/p>\n Previous attempts by Russia and Ukraine to negotiate an end to the fighting have failed to achieve a ceasefire, but have resulted in prisoner swaps. <\/p>\n Zelensky also repeated his readiness to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin face-to-face, saying: “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace.”<\/p>\n Ukraine was this week given a boost when US President Donald Trump – who has in the past often expressed support and admiration for Russia’s leader – announced that the US would send “top-of-the-line weapons” to Ukraine via Nato countries.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Donetsk](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/74012950-6569-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.png.webp.webp\")
Donetsk Regional State Administration<\/p>\n