Internet outages, flight chaos follow drone attacks on Moscow and nearby regions

Russia claims it’s facing an escalating wave of Ukrainian drone strikes, now in their second day. Reported civilian injuries in Tula possibly from drone debris, flight suspensions in Moscow, and internet outages in five regions highlight the scale of disruption. A Ukrainian Telegram channel also reports possible strikes on a major arms factory in Moscow Oblast.

Drone strikes continue in Tula Oblast for second straight day

Today, 22 May, by 6:00 in the morning, Tula Oblast Governor Dmitry Milyaev said his region was already countering the tenth wave of drone strikes.

Around noon today, Milyaev stated the region has remained under a declared “air threat regime” for over 35 hours, following repeated drone strikes beginning at 10:30 on 20 May. According to the Russian official, the region was experiencing its eleventh wave of UAV attacks, with Russian air defenses having ostensibly intercepted 19 drones so far.

Overnight on 22 May, a drone allegedly crashed into the roof of an apartment building in Tula’s Proletarsky district, with two civilians ostensibly “receiving traumas,” according to governor Milyaev, who confirmed ongoing anti-air operations through his Telegram channel. Residents reported loud explosions and air defense activity in the early hours around 2:00 local time.

As of 15:00 Kyiv time, drones were still reported in Tula airspace by locals, according to Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+, which posted corresponding videos.

Defense plant may have been hit in Moscow Oblast

Supernova+ also reported that at least two drones struck the NPO Bazalt plant in Moscow Oblast’s Krasnoarmeysk. Bazalt is a key ammunition and weapons manufacturer in Russia. Euromaidan Press was unable to independently verify the claim or locate corroborating sources.

While Russian officials have not confirmed this specific damage, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated on 22 May that three UAVs heading for Moscow were intercepted by air defenses.

Sobyanin claimed 34 drones were shot down over Russia’s capital region that day, including eight after 10:00. On the previous day, 27 UAVs were reportedly intercepted.

Drone sightings were also reported in Mordovia.

Internet restrictions to counter drones

Internet access was restricted in several Russian oblasts, with Ivanovo becoming the fifth region to shut down mobile internet due to ongoing drone activity.

Ivanovo governor Stanislav Voskresensky stated on VKontakte social network that internet services would resume once conditions allow.

Earlier, mobile internet was cut in Lipetsk, Tula, Vladimir, and Oryol oblasts. These regions were all targets of drone strikes.

Airspace disruptions continue as drone numbers climb

Domodedovo Airport halted flights for the fourth time in one day for a few hours, and Rosaviatsiya reported delays of more than two hours for 37 flights across four Moscow airports as of 12:00.

Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport also suspended operations overnight on 22 May, marking its third closure in a day.

Other airports in Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky also imposed temporary flight bans.

Around noon, Rosaviatsiya restricted operations at Samara Airport starting from 12:17 local time.

Russia claims it downed nearly 500 drones in two days

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that 485 drones had been shot down over Russian regions between 20:00 on 20 May and 08:00 on 22 May. Of those, 63 were allegedly intercepted over Moscow Oblast. MoD also stated that between 00:00 and 05:30 on 22 May alone, 105 fixed-wing drones were “destroyed or intercepted,” including 35 over the Moscow region.

Ukrainian officials have not publicly commented on the drone operations.