Reports of drone strikes in Moscow: Flight carrying Indian parliamentary delegation lands with 40 mins delay

Moscow: A flight carrying a delegation of Indian parliamentarians among other passengers had an arrival delay of around 40 minutes on Thursday in view of brief shutting of airports in the Russian capital following a barrage of overnight drone strikes, people familiar with the matter said. Russian authorities said 153 flights were impacted due to what they called "temporary flight restrictions". The Russian capital had become the target of dozens of Ukrainian drone attacks forcing closure of all airports, the people cited above said.

Some of the flights were diverted to different airports, it is learnt. There is no official statement by Russian authorities on the specific reasons for the flight delays. The flight carrying the Indian parliamentary delegation led by DMK lawmaker Kanimozhi arrived at Domodedovo international airport with a delay of about 40 minutes, the people said. The Indian delegation is in Moscow as part of New Delhi's global diplomatic outreach to highlight its zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and expose Pakistan's alleged links to cross-border terror activities. The town of Elets, about 400 kms south of Moscow, was attacked by several Ukrainian drones, the RTVi news portal reported.