All arrivals and departures at Russia’s Sochi and Kazan airports were suspended on Friday morning to “ensure the safety of civilian aircraft operations,” Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) announced. The agency provided no further details.
The Telegram channel Baza reported that the restrictions were due to the threat of a drone attack. It later claimed that similar flight restrictions were imposed at airports in Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala.
Overnight, restrictions were also briefly in place at airports in Volgograd and Astrakhan. Press services for those airports told RIA Novosti that the measures have since been lifted.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems shot down 13 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory during the night: five over the Bryansk region, three over the Kursk region, two each over the Belgorod and Tula regions, and one over the Astrakhan region.
