Russian airports closed amid alleged Ukrainian balloon and drone raid
Rosaviatsia said the restrictions forced more than 200 flight delays and about 100 cancellations as air defenses responded to the aerial threat.
- On Friday, October 9, 2026, all four Moscow airports—Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky—suspended operations from 3:40 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. amid reported drone and balloon activity.
- Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed the "Cover" contingency plan was activated as several Rossiya Special Flight Detachment aircraft, including those carrying President Vladimir Putin from Turkmenistan, were forced to circle the capital.
- More than 200 flights were delayed and around 100 canceled during the disruption, while the presidential jet RA-96025 was diverted to Saint Petersburg after failing to land in Moscow.
- Separately, authorities in the Yaroslavl region claimed to shoot down "reconnaissance small-sized balloons launched from the territory of Ukraine," as national flight cancellations doubled in the first nine months of 2026.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to "close the skies" over Russia in early September, a warning President Putin later labeled "a signal of intent to commit state terrorism.
133 Articles
133 Articles
Russian air defense forces have destroyed 21 Ukrainian drones flying towards Moscow, the Russian news agency RBC reported, citing statements by the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. Sobyanin initially reported that 10 drones heading towards Moscow had been shot down. Nine minutes later, he reported that 11 more drones had been neutralized. According to the mayor, emergency services are working at the sites where debris fell. At the …
A swarm of Ukrainian drones paralyzed for hours the airports of Moscow, forcing several government flights, including those used by President Vladimir Putin, to fly over the capital or to be hijacked to St. Petersburg. It happened Friday, October 9, while the leader of the Kremlin and some of his collaborators returned from a summit in Turkmenistan. [...] The article Shame of Ukrainian drones on Moscow, closed ports of call. Putin's flying Kreml…
Ukrainian drones cause chaos over Moscow: several airports are temporarily closed, hundreds of flights are affected. Putin's government machines, too, seem to have to turn queues.
Putin Reportedly Unable to Land in Moscow as Drones Paralyze Russia’s Capital
Russian leader Vladimir Putin was reportedly unable to land in Moscow on October 9 as a large-scale drone alert paralyzed the capital’s airports, forcing a presidential aircraft returning from Turkmenistan to divert to St. Petersburg. However, it remains unclear whether Putin himself was aboard the diverted plane.
Looks Like Putin's Trip Home Was a Bit Messy, Due to Drones
Ukrainian drones didn't just darken Moscow's skies on Friday—they may have brief scrambled President Vladimir Putin's path home, too. The New York Times reports that a wave of drones shut all four Moscow airports, forcing hundreds of flights to be danced or delayed. Flight tracking data shown at least...
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