Russian authorities have been forced to close airports in Moscow due to a series of drone strikes carried out by Ukraine overnight, Russian officials and state media reported on the 23rd of May, according to The Kyiv Independent and Reuters.
Moscow’s Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports were suspended. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Russian air defences shot down six drones that were “flying towards Moscow”.
At 2:41 am local time, Sobyanin reported that three more drones had been shot down. Emergency services are working at the scene. No casualties have been reported.
Ukraine has carried out massive drone strikes deep into Russian territory for three consecutive nights.
FROM THE EVENING OF THE 20TH UNTIL THE MORNING OF THE 22ND OF MAY, RUSSIA REPORTED THAT 485 DRONES HAD BEEN SHOT DOWN ON ITS TERRITORY.
The latest strikes took place during a coordinated Ukrainian drone campaign to disrupt air traffic in Russia. Since the 1st of January, Ukraine has launched hundreds of drones, forcing the temporary closure of at least 217 airports across Russia.
Separately, Russia said on Thursday that it had fired an Iskander-M missile at the town of Pokrov, in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, and destroyed two Patriot missile launchers and an AN/MPQ-65 radar.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that damage was caused in the Dnipropetrovsk region following the attack, but did not specify the type of weapon.
The Russian defence ministry also said on Thursday that its forces were advancing on key frontline points, and pro-Russian war bloggers said Russia had broken through Ukrainian lines between Pokrovsk and Kostantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the settlement of Novo Poltavka, located between the two towns.
The Ukrainian military did not confirm this in a late evening report on the area, but the popular war blog DeepState showed that the settlement was occupied by Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said on Wednesday that the heaviest frontline fighting was taking place around Pokrovska, but made no mention of any Russian advances.
Russia currently controls just under one fifth of Ukrainian territory and claims that this territory is now formally part of Russia, which is not accepted by Ukraine and its European allies.
Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. According to Russian estimates, Russian forces also control almost all of Luhansk and more than 70% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. Russia also controls a small part of Kharkiv oblast.