Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced on 22 February that Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles attempted to attack Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defence reported that 71 UAVs were shot down.
Alleged UAV Attack on Moscow
Sergey Sobyanin stated on 22 February that Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles targeted Moscow, the capital of Russia. Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defence systems destroyed nine UAVs.
Russian Ministry of Defence: 71 UAVs Shot Down
According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence, air defence forces shot down a total of 71 unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to the Armed Forces of Ukraine over Russian territory within two hours.
According to ministry data:
- 15 UAVs were neutralised in the Moscow region.
- 11 UAVs were reported to have been heading directly towards Moscow.
Details of the incident were shared with the public by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Flight Restrictions at Four Moscow Airports
Following the attempted attack, security measures were increased in the capital. Temporary flight restrictions were implemented at four major airports in Moscow:
- Domodedovo International Airport
- Vnukovo International Airport
- Sheremetyevo International Airport
- Zhukovsky International Airport
Authorities stated that the airspace restrictions were imposed for security reasons.
