On the night of September 20, 2026 the Russian capital became the target of one of the largest and most concentrated waves of drone attacks (UAVs) since the beginning of the military conflict. According to official data from local authorities, in just over an hour – between 03:20 and 04:28 Moscow time – the country's air defenses intercepted and neutralized 110 enemy drones on the approaches to the city.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on his personal channel that initially 14 drones were shot down, but the intensity quickly escalated, forcing anti-aircraft units to reflect successive waves of devices every few minutes. At this time, specialized teams of operational and rescue services are working at the sites of the debris fall. According to statements from the city administration, there is no officially confirmed data on serious damage to the city's infrastructure or injured citizens on the ground.
Complete collapse of Moscow aviation hub
In connection with the imminent air threat, the Federal Air Transport Agency “Rosaviatsia“ imposed immediate emergency restrictions on the use of airspace over the Moscow region. International airports „Domodedovo“ and „Zhukovsky“ completely stopped accepting and departing passenger planes at around 02:50 at night.
Serious delays and diversions to backup runways in other cities also affected the airport „Vnukovo“, where previously introduced security measures remained in effect throughout the night. According to air traffic controllers, dozens of flights were held in the air until the main danger of a collision with drones passed.
Thousands of drones a week towards the Russian rear
Military analysts note that the current offensive is a continuation of the unprecedented pressure from Ukrainian forces in recent days. Official statistics from the Russian Ministry of Defense indicate that only within In the previous 24 hours (September 19), Russian air defense forces neutralized a total of 288 drones over a number of regions, including Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk and Tula.
In his weekly report, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the surprising figure that for the period from September 12 to 19, a total of 2022 drones, the vast majority of which were silenced by electronic warfare (EW) equipment on the far approaches.
Sources: Interfax, Reuters