Russian military intercepts another drone near Moscow
Russian air defenses have downed an aircraft headed for Moscow, preventing another attempted “Ukrainian” strike on the capital, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday morning.
“On August 21, at around 6:50am Moscow time, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kiev regime involving one plane-type unmanned aerial vehicle was thwarted,” the military said in a brief statement.
The drone was suppressed using “electronic warfare” and crashed to the southwest of the capital, in the Odintsovo district of Moscow Region. Military officials noted that the incident did not cause any casualties or material damage.
Several hours later, the ministry posted another message, saying that another UAV of a similar type had been shot down over the Istra district of Moscow Region at 8:16am on Monday.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed on his Telegram channel that “air defenses have downed a UAV approaching Moscow,” with the incident causing no casualties or damage on the ground.
Meanwhile, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyev wrote that falling debris in Istra district had injured two people and shattered windows in three households.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, known locally as Rosaviatsiya, in turn reported: “this morning, on August 21, 2023, arrivals were temporarily restricted at Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports to ensure the security of civilian flights, and also at Zhukovski airport.”
A total of 45 flights were redirected to Nizhniy Novgorod, Kazan and St. Petersburg as a result.
As of 9:00am Moscow time, all four airports had resumed normal operations.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has ramped up its attempts to target Moscow with drone strikes, which have been mostly unsuccessful.
On Sunday, the military intercepted another Ukrainian drone over the Stupino district of Moscow Region, which also crashed in a deserted area, causing no damage or injuries.
On Friday morning, Ukraine targeted the Russian capital’s business district, with one drone intercepted and downed near the high-rises of Moscow City.
