Moscow calls blackout a ‘brief outage’ after trams and subway escalators stop

Officials recorded power failures in several districts of the Russian capital.

“A brief outage affected some customers in Gagarinsky and several other districts during a technical switch between power sources. Power service has now returned to normal,” the department said in a statement published on the evening of Aug. 18.

Several Moscow districts lost electricity after a fire broke out at a combined heat and power plant. Widespread internet and website disruptions followed across Russia, with most complaints coming from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Trams stopped running in Moscow during the outage, and subway escalators went out of service.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Aug. 18 that Russian air defenses had shot down more than 1,600 drones within 24 hours, along with 10 guided bombs and two HIMARS rockets.

The previous record for drones deployed in an attack on Russia was set on Aug. 16. Russian authorities claimed that they had “shot down 1,478 drones” within 24 hours.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, Moscow canceled the major parade of military bands known as the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival. The four-day event had been scheduled to begin on Aug. 21.