Ukrainian Drones Disrupt Moscow Airports

Numerous flight disruptions occurred at Moscow’s airports yesterday (May 22, 2025). Due to security concerns, Russian authorities were forced to intermittently suspend flights because of Ukrainian drones. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian drones were heading towards Moscow, causing cancellations of flight routes from the country’s largest airport, Sheremetyevo, as well as Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky. The Russian Pentagon announced that ‘air defense systems intercepted and destroyed a total of 105 Ukrainian drones,’ 35 of which were approaching Moscow. Moscow’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, posted on Telegram that rescue teams are working at sites where debris from hostile drones fell. Later in the evening, he reported that another 11 unmanned aircraft heading towards the Russian capital were neutralized. Additionally, Ukrainian military aviation stated that Russian forces launched 128 drones against Ukraine, with 112 being shot down or neutralized using electronic means. Drone attacks armed with explosives occur almost daily on both sides, three years after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, strikes on the Russian capital remain rare. So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has largely rejected peace proposals from Kyiv, Washington, and their European allies. Moscow’s forces have slowly regained territory lost last year, controlling approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people have died, while millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee cities and villages in the eastern and southern parts of the country.