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Ukrainian Drones Close Moscow Airports as Putin Flies Back to Russia
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- A Ukrainian drone attack on Friday caused the closure of Moscow’s airports for several hours, disrupting the return of Russian government aircraft from a summit in Turkmenistan.
- FlightRadar24 data showed that Russian government jets, possibly including President Vladimir Putin's plane, either circled over Moscow or diverted to St. Petersburg due to the drone threat.
- Putin, who attended a summit of former Soviet states in Turkmenbashi, was reported by Russian state media to have left the city and boarded a plane for Moscow amid the airport shutdown.
- The Russian leader’s fleet includes multiple Il-96-300PU planes, known as the “Flying Kremlin,” which serve as airborne command centers and decoys to ensure his security during flights.
- Three such planes departed Turkmenbashi on Friday; two performed unusual maneuvers around Moscow’s airspace due to the drone attack, while the third initially diverted to St. Petersburg before heading to Moscow.
