On July 20, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had shot down about 132 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeting a series of areas of Russian territory, of which at least 26 appeared in Moscow's airspace.
To ensure the safety of people as well as international tourists, Mr. Artem Korenyako - spokesman of the Russian Civil Aviation Authority Rosaviatsiya - said that the local government has decided to limit the operations of 4 international airports in Moscow.
At least 134 flights were diverted to replacement airports during the hiatus, Korenyako said.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that the Ukrainian UAV airstrike began at 6pm on July 19 (local time) and lasted until the early morning of July 20 (local time).
Although no serious damage to facilities was recorded, debris from a Ukrainian UAV shot down in Zelenograd, about 32km northwest of Moscow, caught a car on fire.
According to sobyanin's status update, emergency services were deployed immediately after the fire broke out in Zelenograd. "All necessary measures are being taken. According to preliminary information, there were no serious injuries or damages" - the Mayor said.
Meanwhile, also on July 20, the Ukrainian air force announced that 57 Russian UAVs were launched into the country overnight. Of these, 25 were shot down or disabled and the remaining 32 attacked 10 locations.
Notably, this mutual airstrike took place in the context that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky, have expressed their willingness to negotiate to end the more than 3-year conflict in Eastern Europe.
This makes many experts believe that a peaceful future is still impossible at present or in the near future.
