MOSCOW — All four Moscow airports stopped flights during a reported Ukrainian drone attack Friday, Oct. 23, and photos on social media allegedly showed drone debris on the tarmac at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Arrivals and departures stopped for several hours that afternoon at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky.
Nobody has verified the photos. The Kyiv Independent reported, “Photos later emerged on social media that allegedly showed debris from a downed drone on the tarmac at Sheremetyevo.” It added: “The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the photos.”
Agentstvo is an independent Russian outlet. It reported neither the airport’s press service nor Moscow officials said a drone had fallen there. Ukraine had not commented on the reported attack as of the Kyiv Independent’s report.
Flights halted at all four airports
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, announced limits on flights in and out of the four airports. It did so shortly after 2 p.m. local time, the Kyiv Independent and the Moscow newspaper MK reported.
Russian state news agency TASS reported the authority said the limits were needed for flight safety.
The Kyiv Independent reported Sheremetyevo, Moscow’s largest airport, sounded an air alert. It said the airport told waiting passengers to take shelter.
The Moscow Times reported the airport said it had evacuated some areas. It said it also got passengers off planes. TASS said access to secure areas of all terminals was limited.
More than 20 Moscow-bound flights were sent to other cities, TASS reported. Aeroflot said some flights went to other airports.
TASS said Nizhny Novgorod’s Chkalov Airport handled 13 Moscow-bound flights. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport took 25, TASS said.
The limits were lifted later in the afternoon and early evening. Accounts of the timing differ. The Kyiv Independent, citing TASS, reported the all-clear at Sheremetyevo at 5 p.m.
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported limits were lifted at Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo. TASS said Vnukovo and Domodedovo were taking flights “in coordination with the relevant authorities.”
Flight figures also vary by source. Flightradar24 reported 85 canceled and 229 delayed flights at Sheremetyevo over the day, the Kyiv Independent said.
The Moscow Times cited the flight-tracking site Airports.ru. At one point, the site listed 69 flights across Moscow’s airports as canceled and 164 as delayed. Agentstvo said nearly 200 flights were canceled.
Unverified photos of drone debris on the tarmac as Moscow airports closed
The Moscow Times reported: “Photos circulating on social media appeared to show drone debris on a runway at Sheremetyevo.”
Agentstvo said Exilenova+, a Ukrainian monitoring channel, posted a photo of the alleged debris. It said the photo appears to show a Terminal C sign.
The outlet said the alert at Sheremetyevo was declared around 2:50 p.m. It said it isn’t known when any drone came down. Two analysts told the outlet the photos weren’t enough to tell the drone’s type or size.
MK reported an audio announcement at the airport told passengers not to use elevators. It told them to stay away from windows and glass structures. It also told them not to go near any drone pieces found.
That account couldn’t be independently confirmed.
Why debris on an airfield matters
Loose material on runways, taxiways and aprons is known as foreign object debris, or FOD. Jet engines can suck it in.
It can also puncture tires. So airports routinely check and clear their movement areas.
Sheremetyevo has confirmed drone debris on its grounds before. On May 17, 2026, the airport’s press service said drone debris fell on airport grounds, RIA Novosti reported. It said the debris fell a safe distance from passenger and aircraft service areas, with no injuries or damage.
Agentstvo called Oct. 23 the second known case of its kind since the war began. This time, there was no official confirmation.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin posted running tallies of drones shot down during the afternoon. The Kyiv Independent reported he said 17 drones heading toward the city were shot down.
The Moscow Times reported he said 21 drones headed for the capital were downed over two hours. The Russian figures can’t be independently verified.
The closures followed weeks of disruption at Moscow’s airports. The Moscow Times, citing Airports.ru data, reported more than 500 flights were canceled between Oct. 16 and 18. Agentstvo said the delays and cancellations began Oct. 8.
Drones have disrupted other airports, too. Recent cases include a wave of unexplained drone sightings that shut airport after airport in Europe and an explosive drone found on the tarmac at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport.
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Sources
- The Kyiv Independent — “Ukrainian forces strike Oryol electronics plant, General Staff confirms, drone attacks shut down Moscow airports” (Oct. 23, 2026)
- TASS — “IN BRIEF: What to know of restrictions at Moscow airports, evacuation at Sheremetyevo” (Oct. 23, 2026)
- The Moscow Times — “Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport Resumes Operations After Ukrainian Drone Threat” (Oct. 23, 2026)
- Agentstvo — “Drone debris found at Sheremetyevo for the second time since the start of the war” (in Russian) (Oct. 24, 2026)
- MK — “‘Targeted attack’: political analyst assesses what happened at Sheremetyevo” (in Russian) (Oct. 23, 2026)
- RIA Novosti — “Restrictions lifted at Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo airports” (in Russian) (Oct. 23, 2026)
- RIA Novosti — “Drone debris fell at Sheremetyevo airport, no injuries” (in Russian) (May 17, 2026)
