Indian delegation lands in Moscow 40 mins late following drone strikes

MOSCOW, May 23: 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.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.
The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
Later however, the Indian delegation held wide-ranging discussion on counter-terrorism combat between Russia and India and briefed the Russian side on Operation Sindoor. The all-party delegation, led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is in Russia to sensitise global leadership about terror emanating from Pakistan. (PTI)