Ukraine launched a significant drone attack on Moscow early Tuesday, marking possibly its largest ever assault on the Russian capital. The attack resulted in fires, the suspension of flights and train travel, and reportedly killed at least one person and injured three. The Russian defense ministry reported 337 drones were launched, with 91 targeting the Moscow region. Moscow city mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated it was the largest Ukrainian drone attack on the city thus far.
The attack led to the suspension of flights at all four of Moscow’s airports and the closure of two other airports in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions. At least seven apartments were damaged, forcing the evacuation of residents from a multi-story building in the Ramenskoye district, about 50km southeast of the Kremlin.
A train station in the Domodedovo district, about 35km south of Moscow, was also damaged. Russian Telegram channels posted videos showing residential fires allegedly caused by drones.
The strikes came on the same day that US and Ukrainian teams were scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia for peace talks, aimed at ending the three-year conflict started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Other regions, including Ryazan and Belgorod, also reported drone attacks with several settlements in Belgorod losing power.
This attack follows a previous drone attack on Moscow in November 2024, which was the largest on the city at that time. Ukraine claims its strikes are aimed at destroying infrastructure critical to Russia’s war efforts and in response to Russia’s continued bombing of Ukraine, with both sides denying targeting civilians.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of conducting the attack before an OSCE secretary general’s visit to Moscow, stating that this was not the first time a high-ranking foreign delegation’s visit has been accompanied by a Ukrainian drone attack.
The greater Moscow region, with a population of over 21 million, is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe, comparable to Istanbul.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/11/moscow-airports-suspend-flights-after-massive-ukrainian-drone-attack
