Ukraine's drone campaign to disrupt Russian airports is only beginning

Ukraine's campaign to paralyze Russian airports, codenamed M&M's, is "only beginning," according to two of its initiators, as Ukrainian drones have caused widespread flight cancellations and disruptions to Moscow's air traffic. Since last month, Ukrainian drones have nearly daily disrupted air travel over Moscow, and on October 8 they attacked at least four Russian data centers, causing massive online service outages. Moscow airports were forced to cancel 345 flights last week alone, while President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned airlines and insurers about the dangers of flying through Russian airspace, though he insists Ukraine will not target civilian aircraft. Zelensky has not yet authorized the original, more aggressive plan, which would use AI-equipped drones to bypass Russian air defenses and strike airports directly. US President Donald Trump has opposed attacks on Russian refineries but has not commented on airport strikes, while Ukrainian weapons makers are developing specialized drones with map-matching technology.