Flights were halted at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports amid safety concerns following the drone attacks.
Russian forces have shot down 10 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow, according to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, as Ukraine reported at least one person killed in Russian attacks on the war-torn country.
There were no reports of any damage in Moscow on Sunday, but a Ukrainian drone attack led to a short-lived fire at the Azot chemical plant in the neighbouring Tula region, injuring two people, and seven drones were destroyed above the Kaluga region, regional governors said.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, said on Telegram that, to ensure air safety, it halted flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo, as well as nearby Kaluga (Grabtsevo) airports. They were later reopened.
The drone attack comes as Kyiv launched an unprecedented drone operation last weekend deep inside Russia, targeting nuclear-capable military aircraft at Russian airbases. Moscow promised to retaliate, unleashing a barrage of attacks in recent days.
In the early hours of Sunday, Russian air attacks pummelled multiple locations across Ukraine. At least one person was killed in the industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk that was hit by drones, artillery and rocket launchers.
“The invaders struck … Synelnykivsky district with a guided aerial bomb. A man was killed. Our sincere condolences to his family,” Dnipropetrovsk Council chief Mykola Lukashuk said.
“Five private houses and a kindergarten were also damaged,” he added.
In Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk, a business, four homes and power lines were damaged, he said.
Later on Sunday, Russia said its ground forces were pushing into Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in its three-year offensive.
The Russian defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had “reached the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region”, referring to the part of Donetsk region held by Russia-backed rebels since 2014.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine to Russia’s statement.
In more than a decade of conflict with Kremlin-backed separatists and the Russian army, Ukraine has never had to fight on the territory of the central region until now.
Dnipropetrovsk is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv’s struggling military and economy.
It was estimated to have a population of about three million people before Russia launched its offensive.
Ukrainian military personnel previously told the AFP news agency that Russia could advance relatively quickly in the largely flat region, given there are fewer natural obstacles or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv’s forces.
Also on Sunday, Russian forces hit villages in the regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, injuring two civilians, local officials said.
Failed peace efforts
Russia has accelerated its advance in recent weeks as the latest negotiations in the Turkish city of Istanbul failed to broker an end to the three-year war.
The warring sides accuse each other of delaying a large-scale prisoner exchange – the only concrete outcome of the talks in Istanbul.
The prisoner swap, originally due to take place this weekend, would see more than 1,000 people released from each side.
But Moscow accused Kyiv on Saturday of not agreeing to a date to swap the captured soldiers, while Ukraine said Russia was playing “dirty games” by not sticking to the agreed parameters for the swap.