Moscow, July 18, 2025 — Russian air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 73 Ukrainian drones overnight, including three headed towards the capital, Moscow, according to a statement by Russia’s defence ministry on Friday.
Most of the drones were shot down over the country’s southwestern regions, with 31 intercepted over the Bryansk region, which shares a border with Ukraine. The ministry released the information on its official Telegram channel.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that emergency services were deployed to inspect areas where drone debris had fallen. No casualties or damage were reported in the capital at the time of his statement.
The drone assault briefly disrupted civilian air traffic in and around Moscow. Russia’s federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, temporarily suspended operations at two major airports—Domodedovo and Zhukovsky. Flights were resumed shortly afterward. A third airport, Vnukovo, also halted operations just past midnight before normal service was restored by morning.
Ukraine has not issued a statement regarding the incident. However, Kyiv has consistently maintained that attacks inside Russian territory are aimed at dismantling infrastructure crucial to Moscow’s military campaign. The war, now in its fourth year, has seen a surge in cross-border drone warfare.
