The Russian capital was thrown into chaos this week when two drones were believed to have been shot down on the outskirts of Moscow.
This resulted in all flights being suspended or delayed from 4 major airports and panic erupting in the city.
JUST IN 🚨 All Moscow airports closed to incoming and outgoing flights after reported drone attack
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 22, 2023
Smoke could be seen in the sky above Strogino District, accompanied by explosions.
Car horns blaring along busy streets made it clear that something serious had happened. Russia’s TASS news agency reported airport arrivals and departures being halted early this morning as a result of the attack.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that two combat drones were brought down over Krasnogorsk and Chastsy, while an unnamed official stated that no incoming or outgoing flights would be received until further notice.
The suspected kamikaze drone attack was launched from Ukraine but they did not comment on it.
An aircraft-style drone was alleged to have been destroyed at 8:16 AM near Istra district, followed by another drone crash landing in Pokrovskoye, Ruzsky district – both outside Moscow region limits.
Margarita Simonyan – a pro-Putin propagandist and head of RT state media empire – thanked air defenses for causing no casualties, as her mansion is said to be located close to where one of these incidents occurred.
Videos emerged showing grey smoke filling up the sky as missiles struck a drone before it exploded midair – evidently highlighting its destruction at hand.
It appears Kremlin air defences were prepared for such an incident, though allegations about Ukraine’s involvement remain unconfirmed given their lack of comment regarding this issue so far.
It may well be argued that Kremlin are actively using this incident for propaganda purposes in order to strengthen their diplomatic position against Kyiv and other Western countries supporting them.
However, there is still much uncertainty surrounding what actually transpired here given limited information available about this event at present moment in time.
All four major airports around Moscow ceased operations temporarily due to security concerns over airspace closure as ‘Carpet regime’ came into effect following Monday’s supposed attempted kamikaze drone strike from Ukraine.
This caused massive delays or cancellations among many hundreds scheduled flights around the region during rush hour period yesterday morning.
Although there has been some relief since then with many people taking off successfully later during day after situation stabilized slightly following incident itself, reports suggest authorities are still keeping a tight vigil over the area making sure any potential threats are kept under control before allowing normal flight activity resume again completely.
Given recent events occurring near Russian capital recently, security concerns remain high among local residents who fear similar attacks could happen again anytime soon if proper measures aren’t taken soon enough.
This is especially true if claims prove true about Ukrainian forces launching unmanned aerial vehicles directly towards Moscow itself instead just outside its boundaries like assumed initially.
Therefore it is important authorities exercise utmost caution going forward while tackling possible future scenarios arising out of current political tensions between two involved sides.
Even the smallest mistake can potentially lead the entire region into conflict rather quickly without warning.