Airport Reopens After Ukrainian Drone Attack on Kazan

The drone attack in Kazan, Russia, made the airport stop operating (doc. Special).

JAKARTA - The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday, December 21, 2024, local time, after being temporarily closed the previous day following a Ukrainian drone strike.

The Russian state news agency reported the drone strikes on residential complexes and other areas in Kazan, about 500 miles (800 km) east of Moscow.

The Defense Ministry said the city was attacked by three waves of drones between 7:40 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Russian time. Three drones were destroyed by air defense systems and three others by electronic warfare systems.

No casualties were reported. Kazan's mayor said on Telegram that all planned mass events in the city would be canceled over the weekend and that authorities would offer temporary accommodation for evacuees.

The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to the Russian Security Service, published unverified video footage showing an aerial object crashing into a tall building, producing a large fireball.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the attack, saying Ukraine was taking out its impotent anger at the apparent military defeat on the peaceful Russian population.

Airports in Izhevsk, a small city northeast of Kazan, and Saratov, about 400 miles (650 km) south of Kazan, also temporarily suspended incoming and outgoing flights.

Russia’s aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, later said via Telegram that restrictions at the airports had been lifted.