At least 60,000 passengers saw their flights delayed or canceled at Russia airports while Ukraine has sparked large -scale drone attacks this week, according to a national tourism organization.
The Russian tour operator association said in a statement on Wednesday that at least 350 flights were assigned by the threat of drone strikes, including trips outside the country to destinations such as Istanbul and Dubai.
The affected facilities included the four Moscow airports and plane travel centers in the regions of Sochi, Kazan and Kirov, according to the association. Its press release indicates that many flights were delayed during the night, while some flights that managed to leave had to wait until seven o’clock.
The independent Russian telegram information channels published photos of large crowds gathering at airports and blocked passengers based in departure areas.
“This delay will cause subsequent delays according to the domino principle,” warned the association of tourist operators.
“The aeronautical infrastructure works at its limit,” he added.
He advised travelers across the country to prepare an additional disturbance by bringing money to buy food and drinks at airports and taking a “small supply” with them.
Chaos intervenes that Russia should organize an annual parade of the victory day on May 9 which commemorates the role of the Soviet Union in the end of the Second World War – a major source of national pride promoted by Moscow these days.
Russia says it expects 29 world leaders to attend the parade, including Chinese chief Xi Jinping, who arrived on Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Kyiv warned of visiting leaders that he cannot guarantee their safety if they fly to Moscow, which has been harassed by Ukrainian drone strikes for years.
“We cannot be held responsible for what is happening in the territory of the Russian Federation,” Ukrainian President Volodyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
The week preceding the parade of the Russian victory day saw Ukraine launching an intensified series of drone strikes in three consecutive days.
They seem to increase in severity, the Kremlin said on Wednesday that it had shot down 524 drones. Business Insider could not independently check this figure, but if it is correct, it would record one of the largest Ukraine drone attacks against Russian territory.
Oleksandr Kovalenko, a popular Ukrainian military observer, wrote on his telegram channel that Wednesday involved the “most massive raid of Ukrainian attack drones” since the start of the large -scale war. However, he also accused Russian reports of having the number of drones launched by Ukraine.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, wrote in his telegram that Russian forces had pushed at least 14 drone attacks against the capital on Wednesday. The emergency services were sent in several places where the debris had fallen, he added.
No victim was reported from press time.
Previous Ukrainian drone attacks have caused the closure of Moscow airports before, including a wave of strikes in September which closed three of the four plane travel centers in the region.
Russia also regularly attacks Ukrainian cities, mainly with ballistic missiles and explosive drones designed by Iranians. More recently, Kyiv reported that a mother and a son had been killed in a missile and drone attack on Tuesday evening.
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