Russia and Ukraine struck each other with hundreds of drones on Sunday, throwing Russian air travel in disarray, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced deals with Western partners that would allow Kyiv to scale up drone production, Associated Press reported.
Photos circulating on social media showed crowds huddling at Russian airports including key international hubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Saturday and overnight, according to Russia’s Transport Ministry.
The flight disruptions hit Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s main Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions.
Russian air defenses shot down 120 Ukrainian drones during the nighttime attacks, and 39 more before 2 p.m. Moscow time (1100 GMT) on Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It did not clarify how many had hit targets, or how many had been launched in total, according to Associated Press.
