### Moscow Airports Repeatedly Shut Down Due to Drone Threats as Russia-Ukraine Tensions Escalate

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have intensified, leading to repeated shutdowns of Moscow airports due to drone threats. On the ground, Ukrainian forces have targeted military sites and infrastructure within Russia, causing significant damage and leading to heightened concerns.

In a particularly deadly barrage on Friday, Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv resulted in the deaths of at least six people, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that three emergency workers were killed when responding to an initial attack site, only to be struck again in a subsequent assault. In separate incidents, attacks in the northern city of Chernihiv and the north-western city of Lutsk claimed additional lives. Over eighty individuals across Ukraine sustained injuries in these coordinated attacks.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, condemned the strikes, stating that Russia was targeting civilians in retaliation for the recent destruction of Russian aircraft. Over the past weekend, Ukrainian operatives had successfully destroyed Russian strategic bombers using drones cleverly concealed on trucks in what was dubbed Operation Spiderweb.

Further escalating the situation, Russian aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions at regional airports around Moscow as a precaution against potential drone threats on Friday night. This marked the third such suspension since the night of June 5. The Russian defense ministry confirmed that at least 82 Ukrainian drones had targeted various areas, including the Moscow region, over an eight-and-a-half-hour period. Additionally, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin noted that six drones had been intercepted en route to the capital.

The Ukrainian military also reported successful strikes on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields located in Russia's Saratov and Ryazan regions, respectively. These attacks extended to several fuel reservoirs, with online footage showing massive fires and plumes of smoke at a fuel facility in Saratov. The authenticity of these videos was confirmed by BBC Verify, and Nasa satellite fire monitoring corroborated the presence of large-scale fires at Engels.

In light of these events, President Zelenskyy called for unified international pressure on Russia. He emphasized that any delay in action contributes to the ongoing loss of lives and complicity in the conflict, urging for decisive and immediate measures.