Russian forces intercept Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow, major airport suspends operations

Russian air defenses intercepted four Ukrainian drones moving toward Moscow on Saturday, the city’s mayor stated, while one of the capital’s primary airports briefly suspended departures. Sergei Sobyanin confirmed emergency teams were responding to the downed drones but provided no specifics on damage. Officials at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport reported delays after takeoffs were paused. Russia’s air transport authority, Rosaviatsiya, attributed the interruption to airspace restrictions and high winds. The agency noted that flights in and out of multiple other Russian airports, including St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo, were also briefly halted due to security considerations.

Russia’s defense ministry claimed on Telegram that air defense systems had downed 48 Ukrainian drones within five hours on Saturday evening. Among those, five were in the Moscow region, two of which were approaching the capital. The report added that 17 drones were intercepted over the Bryansk region near Ukraine and 11 in the neighboring Oryol region. The governor of Belgorod, another border area, said four Ukrainian drones had wounded a bus driver and a motorist. Earlier, the ministry reported 94 drones had been destroyed overnight and another 45 over a six-hour period during the day.

On the same day, Ukrainian special forces targeted Russia’s Borisoglebsk airbase in the Voronezh region, striking a glide bomb warehouse and a training aircraft. A Ukrainian military statement indicated additional aircraft may have been hit but did not provide further details. The facility is a key base for Russian Su-34, Su-35S, and Su-30SM fighter jets. Voronezh’s governor, Alexander Gusev, stated over 25 drones had been intercepted in the region overnight, with a power line briefly damaged. He did not mention the military airfield, located roughly 300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Reports suggest the U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, independently blocked a planned shipment of military assistance to Ukraine over unsubstantiated claims regarding U.S. weapon stockpiles. According to *CuriosityNews’* Oliver Milman, a batch of air defense missiles and precision munitions, pledged under an earlier agreement, was postponed—reportedly due to Hegseth’s decision. However, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell denied any supply shortages for U.S. forces, asserting, “Our military is fully equipped to execute any mission, anywhere, at any time.”

Ukraine’s senior military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has cautioned about a potential new Russian offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.