Hundreds of drones flew toward Moscow and its surrounding region overnight, the Russian capital’s mayor said early on Thursday, as flight restrictions disrupted three of the city’s airports.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that 613 unmanned aerial vehicles flew toward the Moscow region between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. He said most were neutralised by defence ministry air defences on distant approaches, while 231 were destroyed as they approached Moscow.
The figures are Russian claims and have not been independently verified. The Kyiv Independent, reporting Sobyanin’s statements, said it could not independently verify them at the time of publication.
A night of rising claims: the attack began on the evening of Wednesday, October 28, and continued into the early hours of Thursday, October 29. Sobyanin reported waves of interceptions through the night, with his totals rising as the hours passed: 15 drones shortly after midnight, then 57, then 74, then 109 by 5 a.m., before the final figure of 613 heading toward the wider Moscow region by 7 a.m. Russia’s defence ministry, in a separate overnight report, claimed air defences had intercepted and destroyed 1,214 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones across Russia as a whole, including the Moscow region and more than a dozen other regions. That nationwide figure should not be confused with the Moscow-region figure. Ukraine has not commented on its alleged involvement in the attacks, according to the Kyiv Post.
Airports disrupted: Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, imposed temporary restrictions on arrivals and departures at three of the Moscow region’s four major airports: Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky. Restrictions at Zhukovsky were later lifted, while Vnukovo and Domodedovo continued operating under special coordination procedures. Two flights from Istanbul to Moscow were forced to turn back because of the restrictions at Vnukovo, according to the Russian state news agency TASS, as reported by the Kyiv Independent and the independent Russian outlet Astra. Residents of Moscow Oblast reported explosions near Naro-Fominsk, a town about 50 kilometres southwest of the capital, Astra reported. Authorities reported no casualties or damage, and Sobyanin did not indicate any specific targets of the attack. Emergency services were working at sites where debris fell, he said.
Part of a wider drone war: the overnight attack is the latest in a series of major drone assaults on the Moscow region. In mid-September, Sobyanin said about 1,600 drones were launched toward the Moscow region in a single day, the largest such attack since the war began, according to Free Malaysia Today. The latest attack came as Moscow hosts a Russia-Africa summit, with the leaders of 22 African countries at the two-day meeting, according to the Kremlin as reported by Free Malaysia Today. Both countries have stepped up drone attacks in recent months, even as Moscow and Kyiv prepare to resume peace talks next month with US mediation, Free Malaysia Today reported. Ukrainian authorities also reported overnight Russian strikes in several areas, including an attack in the Rivne region that killed one man. For travellers, the immediate effect was disruption rather than danger on the ground: temporary airport restrictions, diverted flights and delays while air defences operated through the night.
What is confirmed — and what is not: what is confirmed is that Moscow’s mayor reported a large overnight drone attack, that flight restrictions were imposed at three Moscow airports, and that at least two flights turned back. What is not independently confirmed is the precise number of drones involved or the extent of any damage, since the figures come from Russian officials and have not been verified by independent sources.
Frequently asked questions: How many drones were involved in the Moscow attack? Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed 613 drones flew toward the Moscow region overnight, with 231 destroyed on approach to the city. Russia’s defence ministry separately claimed 1,214 drones intercepted across Russia. Neither figure has been independently verified. Which Moscow airports were affected? Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky faced temporary restrictions; Zhukovsky’s were lifted first, while the other two operated under special procedures. Were there casualties? Authorities reported no casualties or damage, according to the Kyiv Independent’s summary of official statements.
Sources: Kyiv Independent https://kyivindependent.com/moscow-comes-under-drone-fire-overnight-grounding-flights-at-major-airports/ ; Free Malaysia Today https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/29/hundreds-of-drones-launched-toward-moscow-region ; Kyiv Post https://www.kyivpost.com/post/88507 ; RBC-Ukraine https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/massive-drone-attack-on-moscow-mayor-claims-1793255732.html
FILE PHOTO: A generic view of the Moscow skyline. Credit: Mia Primavera / Wikimedia Commons. This is a file photo, not a photo of the event described above.
FILE PHOTO: A generic airport departure hall. Credit: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons. This is a file photo, not a photo of the event described above.
