Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s plane was forced to divert from Moscow after the city’s airspace was closed on Thursday amid a massive overnight drone attack.
According to Armenian local media, Pashinyan’s ACJ319 circled over the Tver region for nearly an hour waiting for landing clearance, but never received permission. The aircraft was redirected to Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, where it landed around 1 a.m.
Pashinyan was traveling to Moscow after a visit to Germany and was scheduled to participate in a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union’s interstate council.
The diversion came as Moscow faced a massive overnight barrage of nearly 300 Ukrainian drones that struck targets across Russia on the night of Dec.11. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 36 Ukrainian drones were shot down as they approached the capital over more than seven hours.
He gave no information on casualties or damage, saying only that emergency services were working at impact sites.
Russia’s aviation agency closed all four major Moscow airports – Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky – to arrivals and departures. At least 133 flights were canceled, delayed or diverted as the capital’s airspace temporarily shut down.
Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian refineries, storage facilities, and export terminals, describing the operations as part of a wider effort to undermine the Kremlin’s war economy. Kyiv says the strikes aim to disrupt fuel supplies for Russian forces and reduce state revenue from oil exports.