Temporary flight restrictions have been imposed at Moscow's Domodedovo airport and Zhukovsky airport near Moscow, the press service of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) reported.
The measures are necessary to ensure flight safety, the agency said.
Shortly before that, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that three drones had been shot down by air defense systems as they approached the capital. Three more were later destroyed, the mayor said. Twenty minutes later, he reported that five drones had been destroyed.
The number of drones shot down while approaching Moscow had reached 11.
At 8:08 p.m. Moscow time, Rosaviatsia announced that due to the imposition of temporary restrictions on the use of airspace near Sheremetyevo Airport, flights were being accepted and sent from the airport in coordination with the relevant authorities. In addition, flights were suspended at Vnukovo Airport.
On the night of January 1, air defense systems shot down nine drones flying towards the capital, Sobyanin said. In a statement this morning, the Defense Ministry specified that a total of 12 drones had been destroyed over the Moscow Region.