Moscow: Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, temporarily suspended all flights at Moscow’s four major airports on Tuesday following what it described as a significant Ukrainian drone strike.
According to local media reports, Russian air defense systems intercepted and shot down 76 Ukrainian drones within a two-hour window late Monday. The reported wave of drones followed Russia’s own large-scale assault on Ukraine, which Ukrainian authorities described as the most intense drone attack since the beginning of the war.
Ukraine’s air force confirmed that Russian forces had launched 479 self-destructing drones as part of a coordinated attack. Of those, 460 were either destroyed or disabled using air defense systems and electronic jamming technologies.
“The night was extremely difficult due to a strong enemy airstrike,” said Oleksandr Koval, head of the military administration in Ukraine’s western Rivne region, adding that one person had been injured in the attack.
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Amid the intensifying hostilities, Russian forces also claimed they were advancing toward Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region — an area that has seen extensive aerial bombardment but has thus far been spared major ground combat.
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Prisoner Exchange Amid Escalation
Despite the sharp escalation in military operations, both sides carried out a significant prisoner exchange on Monday. Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of prisoners of war under the age of 25, allowing for emotional homecomings amid the chaos of ongoing strikes. The exchange is part of a broader agreement announced in Istanbul on June 2, which includes the return of at least 1,200 POWs from each side and the repatriation of the bodies of fallen soldiers.
