In the early hours of Wednesday, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) attempted to attack five regions in Central Russia and the Pskov Region in the country's northwest, TASS reports.
In Pskov, the attack caused a fire at the city’s airport. Several Il-76 military transport planes were damaged there. In other cases, drones were shot down by air defense units before causing any harm.
Also, drone boats attempted to attack the bay of Sevastopol in Crimea. The attack was repelled by anti-submarine warfare forces.
Pskov Airport was attacked by drones. The attack was repelled by the Russian Defense Ministry’s air defense units.
No casualties occurred.
Air traffic above the Pskov Region and its administrative center was restricted. Pskov Airport will remain closed on August 30.
The Pskov Region’s department of the Russian emergencies ministry said Il-76 military transport aircraft had caught fire.
21 pieces of firefighting equipment and vehicles and 65 people are involved in the firefighting effort.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defenses shot down three Ukrainian drones above the Bryansk Region in west Russia and one above the Oryol Region in Central Russia.
Oryol Region Governor Andrey Klychkov said, however, that two drones had been intercepted above his region’s territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported that two Ukrainian drones had been downed in the Ryazan Region and one - in the Kaluga Region.
Kaluga Region Governor Vladislav Shapsha said two drones had attacked his region: one was shot down and the other hit an empty oil tank.
One drone was headed towards Moscow, but was intercepted above the Moscow Region’s Ruzsky municipal district.
No casualties were reported in any of these cases.
Moscow’s airports were briefly closed for arrivals and departures. By now, all restrictions have been lifted in Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozzhayev reported that forces of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet were repelling a drone attack near the main bay of the Crimean city of Sevastopol
About an hour later, he said that anti-submarine warfare forces had completed their task. For now, there has been no precise information about the number and type of destroyed targets.
Eleven flights have been redirected to alternative airports because of restrictions in Moscow airports, according to a statement by the Federal Agency for Air Transport.
Currently all airports are operating normally.
"Early this morning, on August 30, 2023, in order to ensure the safety of flights of civilian aircraft, flights to Moscow airports Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, as well as to Zhukovsky airport, were temporarily restricted. Out of them, 11 passenger flights were redirected to backup airports," the aviation agency noted.
It added that following the lifting of restrictions on using airspace, the passengers on these flights will be taken to their destinations.
During the temporary restriction period, air crews, air traffic controllers and ground services were taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of flights.
Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that overnight on Wednesday, a massive drone attack was attempted in the Central Federal District. One of the drones heading for Moscow was downed by air defense systems in the Ruzsky District.
