On the night of May 7, drone attacks carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in southern regions of Russia led to the suspension of operations at many airports. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, by the morning of May 8, air defense systems neutralized 264 Ukrainian-made drones. The attacks took place in the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Yaroslavl, as well as Krasnodar Krai, Crimea, Tatarstan, and around Moscow.
In Rostov-on-Don, after drones struck an administrative building, air traffic control in the area was temporarily altered. Additionally, a state of emergency was declared in some parts of Rostov, with reports of damaged homes and vehicles. Airport operations were suspended in southern Russia at Astrakhan, Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Gelendzhik, Grozny, Krasnodar, Makhachkala, Magas, Mineralnye Vody, Nalchik, Sochi, Stavropol, and Elista. Restrictions were also applied at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport and airports in Ulyanovsk, Samara, Kazan, Cheboksary, Nizhnekamsk, Bugulma, Sochi, Izhevsk, Ufa, and Perm.
Due to flight cancellations and delays, train and bus services were increased to transport passengers via alternative means. Airlines Aeroflot, Rossiya, Pobeda, Nordwind, and Ural Airlines made changes to their flight schedules, canceling some flights or redirecting them to alternative airports. Authorities emphasized that the measures taken are mandatory for passenger safety. These developments caused significant disruptions in regional air traffic, and the situation is being closely monitored.
