Ukrainian drone strikes disrupt flights at Russian airports

Ukrainian drone attacks paralyzed several airports in eastern Russia overnight, according to Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia. All four Moscow airports—Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, and Sheremetyevo—temporarily suspended operations, with some flights from Turkey forced to return to departure points. Airports in St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Saratov, Ufa, Pskov, Samara, and Perm were also closed. Russia's Defense Ministry reported shooting down 644 Ukrainian drones across more than 20 regions, while Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian refineries Thursday after a brief pause. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned on September 1 that Russian airspace would become unsafe for civil aviation, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to label such threats as "state terrorism." The attacks follow the collapse of a US-brokered energy truce, with Trump criticizing Zelensky and urging elections.