July 19, 2025

Ukrainian drones have stepped up attacks on the Moscow region. On July 19, within half an hour, starting at 18:00, air defense forces shot down three drones as they approached the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported on his Telegram channel. “Emergency services are working at the site of the debris fall,” he reported.

Residents of Troitsk near Moscow reported explosions and a downed UAV , among others. Meanwhile, Rosaviatsia reported on the introduction of the “Carpet” plan, which involves a ban on the departure and arrival of civilian flights, at Domodedovo and  Vnukovo airports . Earlier, flight restrictions were introduced at the Kaluga airport. Early in the morning, during another drone raid, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also closed Sheremetyevo Airport.

Last night, Sobyanin reported that 13 Ukrainian drones had been shot down in the Moscow region. On July 18, according to the Moscow mayor, 13 UAVs were also destroyed in the region, and on Thursday, four more targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, reported that at night and during the day on Saturday, air defense systems managed to eliminate 20 Ukrainian drones in the Moscow region. Another 14 drones, according to the department’s summary, were shot down in the region on July 18. On the night from Thursday to Friday, 10 UAVs were destroyed on approach to Moscow, and before that, on July 17, four more, the Defense Ministry reported. Thus, in three days, almost 50 drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were shot down around the capital.

In the context of increased air raids on Moscow and the closure of airports in the Moscow air hub, serious flight delays have begun again. Against this backdrop, Rosaviatsiya has threatened sanctions against Turkish Airlines under the pretext of the airline violating the rights of passengers who were unable to fly from Vnukovo to Bodrum for almost a day.

The consequences of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacks also affected the Rostov Region, where after the fall of UAV debris and damage to the contact network on the Likhaya-Zamchalovo section, rail traffic was paralyzed. Despite Russian Railways’ statements about the restoration of train service, passengers are still complaining about delays and the fact that they have to sit for hours in carriages with non-working air conditioners in over 30-degree heat.