Almost every day, Russian air travelers are faced with delays and flight cancellations due to drone alarms.Image: keystone
June 16, 2026, 08:52June 16, 2026, 08:52
According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Russia’s air defense system shot down around 60 Ukrainian drones in the capital Moscow. A drone hit an object on the site of an oil refinery in Moscow, Sobyanin said. Nobody was injured. Emergency services are in the process of clearing fallen debris from downed drones. There were restrictions on air traffic at the capital’s four airports due to the drone alarm.
First, the Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports temporarily stopped their work, later the Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports also stopped take-offs and landings. During the holiday season, Russians now experience numerous flight cancellations and delays almost every day. The Russian Defense Ministry reported the shooting down of a total of 172 drones over various regions this morning. The ministry did not provide any information about hits or damage.
Oil depot in southern Russia burns
The Ukrainian drone attacks again targeted oil industry facilities that are important to Russia’s war economy. In the south of Russia in the Krasnodar region, an oil storage facility in the Poltavskaya settlement was hit and caught fire, the authorities said. As a result of the attack, a district road was also closed. Unverifiable video footage of a large cloud of smoke initially circulated on social networks.
With the attacks on the Russian oil industry, Ukraine wants to disrupt military supplies and also hit energy exports, which pour billions into the country’s war chest. The attacks on refineries and fuel depots have already led to bottlenecks in the supply of gasoline in many places. In addition, the prices for refueling are rising. (nil/sda/dpa)