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Russian Military Says Ukrainian Drones Downed over Moscow, Leningrad Regions

Volunteers, who joined the Russian armed forces and took military training in Chechnya, board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov
Volunteers, who joined the Russian armed forces and took military training in Chechnya, board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov
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Russian Military Says Ukrainian Drones Downed over Moscow, Leningrad Regions

Volunteers, who joined the Russian armed forces and took military training in Chechnya, board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov
Volunteers, who joined the Russian armed forces and took military training in Chechnya, board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov

Russia's Defence Ministry said early on Thursday that its air defense units had intercepted and destroyed one Ukrainian drone over the Moscow region and a second over the Leningrad region surrounding the country's second largest city, St Petersburg.
A ministry statement on the Telegram messaging app said the incidents occurred at about 0130 (2230 GMT on Wednesday).
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin had earlier said on Telegram that air defense units had downed a drone while it was on its way towards the capital. Fragments had hit the ground, but there was no damage or casualties, reported Reuters.
The attack on the Leningrad region targeted an oil terminal in the Baltic Sea, according to Russian news outlet SHOT, which cited anonymous sources.
Russian authorities also reported a fresh missile attack on the city of Belgorod located close to the Russian-Ukrainian border. Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said air defenses had downed all 10 missiles, but that one person had been injured.

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Air France Says Jet Flew over Iraq during Iran Attack on Israel

There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP
There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP
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Air France Says Jet Flew over Iraq during Iran Attack on Israel

There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP
There has been surprise and concern about the incident - AFP

Air France said Wednesday it had launched an inquiry into how a jet on a Paris-Dubai flight went over Iraq as Iranian missiles taking part in an attack on Israel went through the same airspace.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Israeli territory on October 1 as tensions in the Middle East soared. The missiles had to cross Iraq to reach Israel.

Air France flight AF662 crossed Iraqi territory at the start of the attack, just before Air France ordered its planes to stop flying over Iraq and local authorities closed Iraqi airspace, according to the French carrier.

The LCI television channel, which first reported the incident, said the pilots saw the missiles in the night sky from their cockpit and that Iraqi air traffic control had wished them "good luck".

"On October 1, information identified an upcoming ballistic missile attack on Israel by Iran. Consequently, and without waiting for instructions from the Iraqi authorities, Air France decided to suspend flights over the country's airspace by its aircraft as of 1700 GMT," Air France told AFP in a statement.

Flight AF662 "was flying over the south of Iraq when the Iranian attack began, at around 1645 GMT. It left the country's airspace shortly before 1700 GMT. Iraqi airspace was not officially closed by the local authorities until 1756 GMT," it added, AFP reported.

The statement said Air France flights "already avoided Israeli, Lebanese and Iranian airspace" due to the international tensions and that "overflight of Iraqi airspace was limited to a specific corridor used by all airlines".

A company spokesperson told AFP that "an internal investigation has been opened into this incident".

The airline did not comment on whether the pilots had seen the missiles. Ballistic missiles fly at an altitude generally higher to that of commercial airliners.

A board member of the National Union of Airline Pilots, Laurent Veque, confirmed the incident saying "the plane ended up in this Iraqi corridor in the middle of the hostilities launched by Iran against Israel".

"Light must be shed on what happened", he told LCI.

Iran said it launched 200 missiles at Israel on October 1, following the September 27 killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, by an Israeli missile in Beirut. Tehran said 90 percent hit their targets, while the Israeli military said many were intercepted.