Ukrainian drone wave shuts Moscow airports again; more than 350 flights delayed or canceled

A wave of Ukrainian drones forced Moscow's airports to halt flights overnight into Saturday, Oct. 17, Kyiv Post, the independent Russian outlet Meduza and The Moscow Times' Russian service reported. Kyiv Post called it the third such shutdown in 10 days; The Moscow Times counted it as the fourth restriction of Moscow's airports in a week, after the nights into Oct. 9, Oct. 14 and Oct. 16.

More than 350 flights were delayed or canceled, with Sheremetyevo hit hardest, according to Meduza's review of online departure boards. Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky were closed for about 7.5 hours and Sheremetyevo for about five, The Moscow Times reported, citing Russia's aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya.

What Russian officials said

Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 610 Ukrainian drones across the country between Friday evening and Saturday morning, over 15 regions and occupied territories including Crimea, Kyiv Post reported. Azerbaijan's APA news agency gave the ministry's figure as 640.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported drones shot down on approach to the capital, and his running tally rose through the night: Kyiv Post cited 75, Meduza cited 140 since midnight, and The Moscow Times and APA reported his overnight total as 144. Sobyanin did not say what the drones were targeting, Kyiv Post reported.

Neither the Defense Ministry's figure nor the mayor's could be independently verified. The reports reviewed did not include a Ukrainian figure for the number of drones launched.

Diverted flights

A Pegasus Airlines flight from Antalya, Turkey, was diverted to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, where passengers were kept on board until Moscow airspace reopened, Kyiv Post and The Moscow Times reported. Meduza, citing the Russian Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti, said at least two flights were sent to Nizhny Novgorod and passengers were bused to Moscow.

Pulkovo itself halted operations for a time, with at least 16 flights delayed for at least two hours, Meduza reported, citing the St. Petersburg outlet Fontanka. The Moscow Times later put the number of Pulkovo departures delayed more than two hours at 19.

A pattern

Overnight into Friday, Oct. 16, Moscow's four main airports (Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky) suspended flights, causing more than 200 cancellations, according to Kyiv Post. A shutdown on Oct. 13-14 led to more than 500 delays or cancellations, it reported.

In the first 14 days of October, Moscow's four airports were closed for a combined 101 hours, compared with 46 hours in all of September, Meduza reported, citing a tally by the outlet Agentstvo.

Why it matters

The repeated closures disrupt civilian travel in Russia's capital and add pressure on its aviation sector. Russian carriers flew 39.5 million passengers from May through August, down 7% from the same period in 2025, Kyiv Post reported, citing Russia's civil aviation agency.

Ukrainian officials say they do not target civilian aircraft, according to Kyiv Post.