Russia closes Moscow airport after drone attack

Russia said Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on Moscow for the second consecutive night.

Russia's aviation supervisor Rosaviatsia said in a telegram that the main airports in all four capitals were closed for hours to ensure safety, but later reopened.

Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on social media that at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed before reaching the city “from different directions.” Some of the debris had landed on the main highway leading to the city, but no casualties were found, he said.

Ukraine has not yet commented. But Mayor Kharkif said Russia also conducted drone strikes in cities and Kiev.

And the governors of other Russian cities in Moscow, including Penza and Voronezh, also said they were targets for drones until Tuesday.

Unverified report by Russian military bloggers suggests that the windows of an apartment in southern Moscow were shattered.

This is the second consecutive night in Russia to report Ukraine's drone attacks – on Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it had destroyed 26 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Kiev has launched several drone attacks on Moscow since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. The biggest attack in March killed three people.

This is a new attempt by Ukraine to span the Kursk region of Russia on Monday.

Kiev said that this had attacked a drone command in the Kursk region near the Russian village of Tiyokno on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.

In April, Moscow said it had regained control of the entire region nine months after Ukrainian troops launched a surprise invasion. Kyiv insists that it still has soldiers acting on the border.

Also in Kursk, Russian officials reported an electrical substation occurred in the town of Ryersk on Monday in the Ukrainian attack.

According to Acting Governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, two transformers at the Rylsk substation were damaged in posts on the telegram messaging application.

He added that the two teenagers were damaged by shrapnel due to the explosion.

Several Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukrainian troops tried to cross the village, posting images of vehicles breaking into tank traps on the border – not yet verified by the BBC.

According to the blogger, Ukrainian troops fired missiles on the border on Monday and used special vehicles to cross minefields.

“The enemy blew up the bridge with rockets at night and launched an attack on the armored groups in the morning,” Reuters reported.

“The mine clearing vehicles started to pass the minefields, and then the armies of armored vehicles. There was a fierce battle on the border.”

“Nine months after the start of the Kursk operation, Ukraine's defense force maintained its military image on the territory of Russia's Kursk region,” Ukraine said in a statement on Monday.

Although Moscow did not respond formally, some military bloggers have also published maps showing troops that opposing forces were trying to cross the border in two places – near the hit drone command unit.

Meanwhile, in Sumi – Tyotkino in northeastern Ukraine, about 12 kilometers across the border – local authorities urged people to evacuate the two settlements.

Ukraine was initially surprised by Kursk in August 2024 to create a buffer zone and protect Sumy and surrounding areas, while also hoping to use it as a bargain in future negotiations.