Drone attacks force closures at Moscow's four airports and affect presidential flights
Written by AI from 24 reports listed below. Not checked by a person before publication. How we use AI
Ukrainian drones led to flight restrictions at Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, while several Russian government aircraft, including an Il‑96‑300PU used by President Putin, were diverted or forced to circle over the city.
Airport closures
All four Moscow airports – Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky – stopped arrivals and departures after a Ukrainian drone attack, according to blesk.cz.
The Russian aviation regulator imposed the restrictions at around 15:40 local time, and the closures lasted roughly six to seven hours, as reported by glavnoe.in.ua.
Presidential aircraft movements
An Il‑96‑300PU with registration RA‑96025, used by President Putin for travel to Turkmenistan, departed Turkmenistan at 15:52 according to Flightradar24, and after a second attempt was able to land at Vnukovo, per unn.ua.
Another report states the same aircraft left Turkmenistan at 13:33 Moscow time, was diverted to St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport arriving at 17:38, and later departed Pulkovo for Moscow at 18:10, according to rbc.ua.
The Kremlin has not confirmed whether President Putin was aboard the diverted jet, as noted by il mattino.it.
Government aircraft circling
Four Russian government aircraft from the Special Flight Squadron were forced to circle over Moscow after the airport closures, according to glavnoe.in.ua.
Three of the aircraft were reported to have returned from Turkmenistan, while a fourth was also seen circling, as described by newpost.gr and iefimerida.gr.
Flight disruptions
The airport shutdown caused more than 370 flights to be delayed and 62 flights to be cancelled, according to il mattino.it.
What's still unclear
Sources differ on the departure time from Turkmenistan (15:52 per unn.ua, 13:33 per rbc.ua) and on whether the Il‑96‑300PU landed at Vnukovo after a second attempt or was diverted to St Petersburg before returning to Moscow. Reports also vary on confirmation of President Putin’s presence aboard the aircraft.