Moscow airports halt flights for second straight night following Zelenskyy warning
Moscow’s Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports suspended flight operations for a second straight night following warnings from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The Moscow Times reported on Sept. 2.
On September 2, flights into and out of Moscow's Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports were halted for the second consecutive night as Ukraine warned of a new effort to close Russian airspace. The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) announced temporary restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously cautioned airlines, insurance companies, and foreign governments that Russian airspace would effectively be closed due to Ukrainian drones.
Although Zelensky provided little detail about the new campaign, he emphasized the large number of drones involved. Most Western airlines had already ceased operations to Russia following the full-scale invasion. Turkey's Pegasus Airlines, however, announced the cancellation of flights to Russia scheduled overnight from September 1-2 due to technical issues, with flights resuming as normal from September 2.
However, live tracking showed that many flights scheduled for September 3 were delayed or canceled at both airports. The announcement came amid an escalation in drone and missile strikes by Russia, especially in Kyiv, while Ukraine, lacking long-range missile capability, resorted to more creative drone tactics. This strategy is not new, as Ukraine has been employing it for nearly 18 months.
The SBU initiated Operation Carpet in the spring to disrupt Russian airport operations through deliberate drone flights.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Moscow airports cancel flights after Zelensky's 'closed skies' warning kyivindependent.com
