MOSCOW — Russia temporarily shut down all four of Moscow’s major airports early Tuesday following what it called a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack, marking the second such strike on the capital region in as many nights.
Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, announced the emergency closures on Telegram, citing safety concerns amid incoming drones. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at least 19 drones were intercepted and destroyed as they approached the city “from different directions.” He added that while debris from the downed drones fell on a key highway leading into Moscow, no injuries were reported.
The Kremlin has blamed Kyiv for the overnight attack, which came amid renewed fighting along the Russia-Ukraine border in the Kursk region. Ukrainian officials have not publicly responded to the latest accusations, but Kyiv has previously asserted that drone and cross-border operations are part of a broader military strategy to disrupt Russian control and defend northeastern Ukraine.
As tensions flared in the skies over Moscow, Ukrainian forces intensified activity in Russia’s Kursk region, targeting key infrastructure and engaging in heavy fighting near the village of Tyotkino, according to military sources and Russian officials.
The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces struck a drone command unit in the area over the weekend, challenging Moscow’s April claim that it had re-established full control over Kursk, nine months after a surprise Ukrainian incursion in August 2024. Kyiv maintains it still has soldiers operating within Russian territory.
In the town of Rylsk, two transformers at an electrical substation were reportedly damaged in a drone or artillery attack attributed to Ukraine, according to Alexander Khinshtein, acting governor of the Kursk region. Two teenagers were reportedly injured by shrapnel from the blast, he said in a Telegram post.
Russian military bloggers reported that Ukrainian troops attempted to cross the border near Tyotkino on Monday, with armored vehicles pushing through tank traps and minefields. Photos circulating online — yet to be independently verified — showed vehicles entering Russian territory.
According to a widely followed Russian war blog, RVvoenkor, “The enemy blew up bridges with rockets at night and launched an attack with armored groups in the morning. The mine clearance vehicles began to make passages in the minefields, followed by armored vehicles with troops. There is a heavy battle going on at the border.”
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry issued a statement asserting that its forces “maintain a military presence on the territory of Russia’s Kursk region,” emphasizing that operations are ongoing nine months after the initial incursion.
Some Russian analysts and pro-war channels shared unconfirmed battlefield maps depicting two points of attempted Ukrainian advances toward Tyotkino. The intensified cross-border campaign appears aimed at creating a buffer zone around Ukraine’s Sumy region, located just 12 kilometers from the Russian border.
Local authorities in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, urged residents in two settlements to evacuate, citing the escalating hostilities, Reuters reported.
Ukraine’s operation in Kursk — launched in August 2024 — was initially framed as a tactical maneuver to shield Sumy and its surrounding areas from Russian artillery fire. However, Ukrainian officials have since hinted the region could also serve as a bargaining chip in future negotiations.
Russia has not officially commented on Tuesday’s drone attack or the ground incursions in Kursk, but the events signal a sharp escalation in tactics on both sides. If confirmed, Kyiv’s ongoing ground presence inside Russia marks one of the most assertive moves in the war to date.
