Days After Donald Trump’s Win, Ukraine Mounts ‘Biggest’ Attack On Russia With 34 Drones

(Photo: X/@jurgen_nauditt)

Russia-Ukraine War: Days after Donald Trump secured victory in the recently concluded United States presidential elections, Ukraine on Sunday stepped up its assault against Russia with at least 34 drones, leaving at least one injured, as reported by news agency Reuters. The fresh drone strikes from Kyiv prompted diversion of flights from three of the city's major airports. It is notably the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022, forcing flights to be diverted. 

The Defense Ministry said that Russian air defenses destroyed another 36 drones over other regions of Western Russia in three hours on Sunday. "An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an airplane-type drone on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted," the ministry said, as quoted by Reuters. Following the drone strike, Russia's federal air transport agency said the airports of Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky diverted at least 36 flights but then resumed operations.

For its part, Moscow launched a record 145 drones overnight, Ukraine said. Kyiv stated that its air defenses downed 62 of those. Ukraine further stated that it attacked an arsenal in the Bryansk region of Russia, which reported 14 drones had been downed in the region. An unverified video posted on Russian Telegram channels showed drones buzzing across the skyline.

As far as the Russia-Ukraine war is concerned, the two and a half-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its final act after Moscow's forces advanced at the fastest pace since the early days of the war and Donald Trump was elected 47th president of the United States. Trump, who is set to assume office in January, said during campaigning that he could bring peace to Ukraine within 24 hours, but has given few details on how he would seek to do this.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Trump to extend wishes and congratulate him on his election victory, Tesla CEO and Trump supporter Elon Musk joined the call, Reuters reported, citing media reports. Musk owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communication services that are vital for Ukraine's defense effort.

Russia Temporally Closes Moscow Airports

Aviation authorities temporarily closed Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo international airports in the Moscow region on Sunday due to potential risks of drone attacks. "In order to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights, temporary restrictions have been introduced for the operation of Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports starting from 08:03 Moscow time, November 10. The airports are temporarily not accepting or sending flights," the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement.

Sheremetyevo International Airport was later shut down, too. Aircraft crews, air traffic controllers, and airport services are taking all necessary measures to ensure flight safety is a top priority, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the statement. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, seven more drones were shot down in the regions of Domodedovo, Ramenskoye and Kolomna on Sunday morning, bringing the total number of downed drones to 32.

(With agencies Inputs)