Four Moscow airports shut as Ukraine blasts capital with massive drone blitz for fourth night as explosions rock city
Hundreds of passenger planes had to be diverted as waves of flying bombs converged on the Russian capital.
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Footage showed explosions as Russian air defences attacked incoming unmanned planes in Zelenograd, a district 23 miles northwest of the Kremlin.
Ukraine has stepped up assaults since Donald Trump reportedly told Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky it was time to make Russians feel 'the pain' of war.
Russia's defence ministry claimed to have downed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight across nine regions - 19 of them over the Moscow area alone.
Authorities were forced to twice close airspace over Moscow, hitting airports Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky.
A total of 134 planes were diverted, as confusion and frustration gripped passengers caught up in the escalating fallout of the war.
State airline Aeroflot was forced to adjust its schedule, while regional airports in Kaluga, Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod were also thrown into disarray.
Frustrated passengers - including tourists on summer vacations - were hit by delays, diverted flights and numerous cancellations in an apparent new tactic by Ukraine to paralyse air travel in Vladimir Putin's capital.
Passengers — many travelling for summer vacations — were left bedding down on the airport floor.
'The restrictions are necessary for ensuring the safety of civil aircraft flights,' announced Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency.
In Zelenograd, a district on the northwestern edge of Moscow, explosions were heard as air defences intercepted drones.
Debris sparked fires that damaged buildings and set vehicles alight, according to local reports.
In nearby Golube, residents described powerful blasts that shattered windows and shook homes, The Kyiv Post reported.
While Russian officials claimed success in intercepting the majority of drones, the repeated closures of Moscow's airspace suggest Ukraine is successfully placing pressure on the capital - targeting not just military assets but the daily functioning of civilian infrastructure.
In a separate blow, anti-Kremlin partisan group Atesh claimed responsibility for sabotage on a key rail line in Tula region.
They set fire to a relay cabinet, causing what the group described as 'serious disruptions in railway communication'.
Atesh said the attack had critically crippled the movement of weapons and military gear from key defence factories.
It was a hammer blow to Putin's logistics — and a taste of the chaos Ukraine and its allies are now willing to unleash.
Elsewhere, drone strikes were reported on Russian-occupied Donetsk, with footage showing what appeared to be an attack near a regional trauma hospital.
In Ukrainian-held Sloviansk, one person was killed in a Russian drone strike.
The Kremlin continued its own strikes in response, targeting the Sumy region in Ukraine's northeast after scoffing at Trump's 50-day peace ultimatum.
A 78-year-old woman was killed in Shostka, close to the Russian border, while in the Zaporizhzhia region a 69-year-old woman was wounded in another attack.
Putin's war machine, ever indiscriminate, continues its campaign of terror against civilians.
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The Russian Defence Ministry, desperate to project strength, released footage of a MiG-31K jet launching a hypersonic Kinzhal missile, a menacing display as the Kremlin signals no intent to back down.
And in a chilling twist, a Russian Shahed drone exploded dangerously close to a Yak-52 aircraft used as an interceptor.
Despite Moscow's bluster, president Zelensky continues to push for peace - on Ukraine's terms.
'The pace of negotiations must be increased. Everything must be done to achieve a ceasefire,' he said.
'And the Russian side must stop hiding from decisions.
'Prisoner exchanges. Return of children. End to the killings.
'And a meeting at the level of leaders is needed to truly ensure peace – a really lasting one. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting.'
But Kremlin is showing no signs of backing down.
According to German General Christian Fröding, Russia is now preparing to swarm 2,000 drones at Ukraine, launching them simultaneously to try to overwhelm its defences.
He warned of growing Chinese support behind the scenes.
'The current situation is such that China is effectively exporting exclusively to Russia, while Ukraine is excluded from this market,' Fröding said.
And while Kyiv has not officially commented on its role in the latest strikes, officials have repeatedly insisted that 'Ukraine consistently adheres to international humanitarian law and targets only legitimate military objectives.'
According to Ukraine's military: 'All actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducted in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, with a clear distinction made between civilian and military targets.'
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