Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport shifts to special regime after massive drone wave

The aviation agency warned that introduced restrictions could cause flight schedule disruptions, stating that the measures were implemented to guarantee flight safety.

Overnight into Aug. 18, temporary ground stops and airspace restrictions were also enacted across Moscow’s Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports before hubs transitioned to operating under manual coordination.

As reported by NV, Moscow and Moscow Oblast faced one of the largest uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks of the war overnight into Aug. 18. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed that 620 UAVs flew toward the capital region between Monday evening and 5 a.m. ob Aug. 18, alleging that Russian air defenses intercepted 180 directly over Moscow Oblast.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that air defense units intercepted 791 drones across multiple Russian oblasts in total, occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas.

In the overnight raid, a strike hit a major in Moscow Oblast, triggering a fire.