A large-scale drone operation targeting the Russian capital forced the closure of all four of Moscow's main airports overnight. Operations at Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, and Sheremetyevo were suspended for up to seven hours, resulting in the cancellation of more than 160 flights. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 94 drones heading toward the city were intercepted and shot down.
The disruption extended beyond the capital, as Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg was forced to halt operations twice during the same night. Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, confirmed that four drones were destroyed over the area. These claims could not be independently verified.
According to data from the Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo, Moscow's airports have faced significant operational downtime recently, totaling 101 hours of closures in the first 14 days of October, compared to 46 hours for the entire month of September. This follows a major operation on Tuesday involving nearly 500 drones deployed against the Russian capital.
Media reports suggest that on October 9, the aircraft carrying President Vladimir Putin—returning from a summit in Turkmenistan—was forced to divert to St. Petersburg while attempting to land in Moscow due to a drone attack, though the plane was not identified as a direct target. Russian officials have neither confirmed nor denied these reports. Furthermore, there has been no official confirmation from Ukraine regarding an organized campaign to shutter Russian airports, a strategy some media outlets have labeled "Operation M&Ms."
While President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged international airlines to avoid Russian airspace, stating that skies over the country are becoming unsafe, reports indicate he has not authorized a more aggressive military campaign to target these facilities. Kyiv continues to target military, energy, and commercial infrastructure to weaken Moscow's war efforts as the conflict enters its fifth year. Commenting on the strategy, Donald Trump stated that while there are many targets, attacking oil refineries that produce diesel fuel does not do the world a favor.
