Russia says 60,000 air passengers stranded after Ukrainian drone attacks
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At least 60,000 airline passengers have been left stranded across multiple Russian cities following a record wave of Ukrainian drone attacks, officials say. The Russian Association of Tour Operators (Ator) reported that over 350 flights were affected from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, disrupting operations in Moscow, St Petersburg, Sochi, and other key airports.
The Russian defence ministry claimed it intercepted and destroyed 524 Ukrainian drones within a 24-hour period—its highest recorded figure to date. While no casualties were reported from the drone strikes in Russia, Ukraine reported that a separate Russian overnight missile and drone assault killed two people in Kyiv.
The strikes occurred just before a self-declared Russian ceasefire was set to begin on Wednesday night. The three-day truce was intended to coincide with Victory Day commemorations on 9 May, marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany. However, Kyiv dismissed the truce as a “theatrical play,” reaffirming its demand for a full 30-day unconditional ceasefire, which Western allies have also endorsed.
Russia’s proposed ceasefire came with several conditions that Ukraine and many European leaders criticized as unrealistic and aimed at prolonging the conflict. U.S. Vice-President JD Vance echoed this sentiment on Wednesday, stating, “We think they [Russians] are asking for too much,” though he emphasized the need for open dialogue between both sides.
Flight operations at Moscow’s three major airports—Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Domodedovo—were heavily impacted. According to Ator, 110 flights were canceled in Moscow alone. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 19 drones had been downed near the city since Tuesday evening.
In St Petersburg, another 55 flights were either canceled or delayed. Videos circulated online showed planes stuck on the runway at Pulkovo Airport, with reports of passengers waiting for hours to disembark.
Other Russian cities, including Sochi, Kazan, Kirov, and Nizhnekamsk, also experienced delays and disruptions, amplifying the country’s aviation woes.
These airspace complications came just as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow for Friday’s military parade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s flight was briefly diverted to Baku, Azerbaijan, due to the drone threat but later resumed, landing safely in Moscow. Reports indicate that both Lithuania and Latvia denied his aircraft passage through their airspace.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the only EU leader expected to attend the parade, also criticized Estonia for denying overflight access, calling it a significant disruption to his schedule. Estonia maintained its stance, reiterating that participation in Russian “propaganda events” was inappropriate.
The Kremlin stated that 27 world leaders would attend the parade. Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela have already arrived. China, notably, has sent the largest foreign military contingent of 102 soldiers among 13 participating countries.
Despite the ceremonial backdrop, tensions remain high. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the Kyiv attack by calling for increased international pressure on Russia. Emergency services were deployed across several Ukrainian regions, including Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kherson, Dnipro, and Zhytomyr, to handle the aftermath.
Earlier this month, Zelensky warned that Ukraine could not ensure the safety of anyone attending the Moscow parade, suggesting that the Kremlin might stage provocations to shift blame onto Ukraine.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry also condemned the involvement of any foreign military forces in the Russian event, calling it “unacceptable” and an effort to “whitewash war crimes.”
Meanwhile, President Xi lauded the strong bilateral ties between China and Russia on the eve of his visit, calling the relationship “resilient.”
Victory Day, one of Russia’s most significant holidays, commemorates Nazi Germany’s surrender in 1945. Putin has long used the occasion to invoke Soviet triumphs and draw parallels to the current war in Ukraine. However, Ukraine and European countries mark Victory in Europe Day on 8 May and have outright rejected Putin’s narrative.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry recently declared: “These people are not liberators of Europe, they are occupiers and war criminals.”
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