Ukrainian drones force Pashinyan’s jet to land in Saint Petersburg instead of Moscow
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s plane was forced to land in Saint Petersburg, instead of Moscow, after circling in the Tver region ‘for about an hour waiting for a landing slot’.
The Russian media outlet MK reported that Pashinyan’s plane was diverted to Saint Petersburg on Thursday morning.
They attributed the disruption to ‘one of the largest drone attacks on Moscow in recent memory’, citing Russia’s Defence Ministry, which said air defence shot down 32 drones overnight.
According to MK, the attack resulted in the delay or cancellation of more than 170 flights, with four main airports in Moscow — Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky — imposing temporary flight restrictions.
Pashinyan’s administration only confirmed that his plane landed in Saint Petersburg hours after MK’s own report, with his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan writing on Facebook that Pashinyan, who had landed safely in Russia, will participate in a Eurasian Economic Union’s Intergovernmental Council session and the International Conference on Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Pashinyan arrived in Russia following his official visit to Germany to take part in the Eurasian Economic Union’s Intergovernmental Council session.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia have become a common occurrence as Russia’s full-scale war stretches close to its fifth year. While Russian attacks are typically indiscriminate and often target civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian strikes have tended to focus on Russian military targets or energy facilities.
The North Caucasus has regularly been subject to such attacks, with one of the more recent ones on 6 December striking a high-rise in Grozny.
The building housed several official agencies, in addition to Chechnya’s Security Council, which is headed by Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s son, Adam Kadyrov.
Elizaveta Chukharova
