Russia closes airspace over St Petersburg airport. Check reason
The main airport in St Petersburg, Russia has been closed after an unidentified flying object was spotted.
By The Feed |
Agencies
Russia has closed down the airspace over the Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg after an unidentified flying object was spotted, according to reports. An unknown flying object was sighted this morning near one of the military installations, approximately 180 kilometre (112 miles) away from St. Petersburg, hometown of Vladimir Putin. It further adds that, as per recommendation of the Russian Ministry of Defence - Pulkovo Airport was shut, as per reports.
The city, which has not experienced any attacks during the ongoing conflict and is located 550 miles away from the closest point of Ukraine, saw fighter jets deployed to safeguard against potential threats from a possible drone attack.
Reports indicate that there were five Russian military planes in the air, heading towards the drone for interception. Local news outlet 112 has stated that two types of fighters, the Su-35 and MiG-31, were among the aircraft deployed.
The unidentified object was reportedly spotted in the direction of the Gulf of Finland, although its exact nature remains unknown. Unverified accounts suggest that the object was a "large drone", with some local media outlets attributing responsibility to NATO without any substantiated evidence.
A journalist has claimed that similar drone sightings have been observed in other regions such as the North Caucasus and Belogrod. Aviation authorities reportedly implemented the 'Carpet' plan following the sighting of an unidentified object in Russian airspace.
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This plan typically involves grounding all civilian aircraft, except for those of military or rescue origin, and is typically put into effect when an unknown object is detected in the Russian Federation's airspace, crosses its state border, or is targeted by the RF Armed Forces' weaponry.
The air warning led to the closure of airspace within a 125-mile radius of St Petersburg's airport. The Russian Ministry of Defence later confirmed that the incident was part of a training exercise in which fighter jets were deployed in the country's western airspace.
The incident coincided with a major hacking event that affected multiple regions across Russia, causing disruptions in TV and radio broadcasts warning of a potential missile strike. This marked the second such hacking incident to occur within a six-day period.
Millions of people were reportedly urged to take immediate shelter in nuclear bunkers as warning sirens blared across Russia. Broadcasts on both TV and radio issued an alert stating, "Attention, attention! Everyone immediately go to shelter! Missile attack threat, everyone immediately to shelter!"
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In response to the warning, the Russian Ministry of Defence released a statement denouncing the alert as a hoax. The ministry confirmed that the warning was triggered by a hack of radio and TV station servers in multiple regions across the country and urged the public to remain calm, assuring them that there was no actual missile threat.