Flight TK407 returned after approaching Moscow as drone strikes disrupted air traffic; dozens of Turkey-Russia flights reportedly affected
Ankara, September 2026: A Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Moscow returned to the Turkish capital on Sunday after approaching the Russian capital amid a major Ukrainian drone attack, according to flight-tracking data and Turkish media reports.
Turkish Airlines flight TK407, operated by an Airbus A330-300, departed Istanbul at 2:22 a.m. local time on Sunday for Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport. After entering Russian airspace and nearing Moscow, the aircraft turned around and subsequently landed back in Istanbul.
The disruption was part of wider air-traffic interruptions affecting flights between Turkey and Russia. At least 35 Turkish-operated flights to and from Moscow's Vnukovo airport were reportedly delayed or cancelled, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The disruptions occurred during a major overnight Ukrainian drone attack targeting Moscow and other areas of Russia.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air-defence forces had intercepted more than 1,600 drones across Russia since Saturday, including approximately 450 that were approaching Moscow. The reported scale of the attack prompted disruptions to aviation operations around the Russian capital.
The incident came amid continuing military activity between Russia and Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday that its forces had conducted two massive and five group strikes against Ukrainian defence facilities, logistics hubs, energy and transport infrastructure over the preceding week.
According to the ministry, the targets included defence, metallurgical, automotive and electronics enterprises, military logistics and distribution centres, fuel and energy facilities, railway and road infrastructure, drone manufacturing and storage sites, ammunition and fuel depots, ports and temporary deployment locations for Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries.
The ministry also claimed that 12 Ukrainian dry-cargo vessels, two sea ferries, a tanker and a tugboat were hit during operations against maritime targets.
Russian air-defence systems, according to the ministry's account, destroyed 44 guided aerial bombs, eight HIMARS rockets, two Neptune long-range guided missiles and 5,706 Ukrainian drones during the week.
The escalation has also been accompanied by warnings from senior Russian officials over possible Western military involvement in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow would regard the deployment of Western troops on Ukrainian territory as a direct act of war against Russia.
Speaking at the International Festival of Youth in Yekaterinburg, Lavrov said Russia did not seek such a confrontation but warned that any attack by European countries against Russia would lead to a different level of conflict.
At the same time, Lavrov said Moscow remained open to a diplomatic settlement. He referred to the possibility of renewed negotiations in the trilateral format previously proposed by the United States.
However, he reiterated that Russia's position remains linked to what it describes as the objectives established at the beginning of the conflict and the need to address its underlying causes.
The return of the Turkish Airlines flight underscored the wider impact of the latest drone attacks, with military activity affecting not only targets on the ground but also civilian aviation and regional travel.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
