Ukrainian drones forced all four of Moscow's main airports to close overnight, with Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo suspended for up to seven hours and more than 160 flights cancelled. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 94 drones heading towards the capital had been shot down. Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg was twice forced to halt operations during the same night.
Governor of Leningrad region Alexander Drozdenko said four drones were destroyed over the region. Euronews could not independently verify the claims. According to Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo, Moscow's four airports were closed for a total of 101 hours in the first 14 days of October, compared with 46 hours across the whole of September.
On Tuesday, Ukraine carried out one of its largest drone operations against the Russian capital, deploying close to 500 drones. On 9 October, according to multiple reports, the presidential aircraft carrying Vladimir Putin — returning from a summit in Turkmenistan — was unable to land in Moscow due to a drone attack and was diverted to St Petersburg. Putin's plane was not reported to have been a direct target.
Russian officials have neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Ukraine has not officially confirmed any organised campaign to shut down Russian airports, in what media outlets have dubbed "Operation M&Ms". President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet authorised the military to proceed with an original, more aggressive plan for such a campaign, according to reports.
In September, Zelenskyy said Russian skies "are becoming unsafe" and that "drones will appear in the skies over Russia, and that will have to be taken into account", urging international airlines to stop flying to Russian airports. Kyiv has targeted Russia's military, energy and commercial facilities in a bid to defund Moscow's war machine, as its all-out war in Ukraine continued well into its fifth year. Yet US President Donald Trump reiterated criticism of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries in an interview, calling them "a disgrace" after his shock announcement of a deal to purchase diesel from the Kremlin.
"There are many targets that can be hit. But when you shell oil refineries that produce, you know, diesel fuel, and we and the whole world need that, (Zelenskyy) is not doing the world a favour," Trump said.
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