Ukraine launches major drone attack on Moscow; Russia closes airports, shoots down 28 drones
Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow overnight on 26-27 October, leading Russian air defence systems to engage, prompting the closure of two of the city’s four airports, Russian authorities said on Monday. Over a five-hour period beginning shortly before 10 pm local time on Sunday (1900 GMT), Russian defence units shot down 28 drones, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on the Telegram messaging app, a report by Reuters said.
Two civilians were hospitalised in Russia’s Bryansk region on Sunday after Ukrainian drone strikes, regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said, according to Al Jazeera. In the western Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian drone attacks injured 16 people.
Meanwhile, the Russian aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said Domodedovo Airport, a major hub, and the smaller Zhukovsky Airport were closed from 2240 GMT to ensure flight safety, per a Reuters report. No information was available regarding possible damage. Kyiv said its attacks targeted Russian infrastructure crucial to Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine.
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Russia’s drone attack against Ukraine
Russia launched 101 drones against Ukraine overnight into Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said, with 90 of them being shot down and neutralised, Al Jazeera reported. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on Sunday said that at least 29 people, including seven children, were injured. Officials confirmed at least three were killed, as per the report.
Local residents walk past a damaged residential building following a drone attack in Kyiv, on October 26, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded dozens, including six children, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on October 26. Elena Blagoveshchenskaya, 50, removes debris in the apartment of her neighbour, who’s wife and daughter died following a drone attack in Kyiv, on October 26, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded dozens, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on Sunday. Firefighters work at a destroyed apartment building after a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday
Five drones struck four locations, and debris from the drones fell on five additional sites, the statement said. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said “several” Russian drones had been active over the city and urged residents to “remain in shelters”.
He added on Telegram that fragments from the drones struck a nine-storey residential building in the northeastern Desnyansky district, causing fires in apartments on multiple floors.
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As per the report, debris also hit another nine-storey building in the same district, and rescuers saved five people. Klitschko said, “Dismantling of structures is ongoing.” Additional drone fragments fell on a 16-storey residential block in northern Kyiv’s Obolonsky district, damaging an apartment, he added.
Russia tests nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said that “decisive tests are now complete” for Russia’s new nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile. He made the statement during a televised meeting with military officials released by the Kremlin.
Putin directed the military to prepare the necessary “infrastructure to put this weapon into service in the Russian armed forces.” He described the missile as a “unique creation that no one else in the world possesses”, noting that the Burevestnik boasts an “unlimited range”.
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Russia’s chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, stated that in the most recent test conducted on Tuesday, the missile flew approximately 15 hours and covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles), though he emphasized that this distance was not the weapon’s maximum capability.
Putin had first revealed the development of the Burevestnik missiles in 2018, citing what he viewed as growing threats from the United States, and stated that the weapon was designed to bypass any existing defense systems.
