Russian authorities have reportedly closed Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg with flight delays announced for up to twelve hours as fighter jets investigate an unidentified object. According to a report from Express News, which cited an unnamed source, airspace over Pulkovo Airport has been shut down within a 200 km radius.
The TV station reports that armed aircraft are in the sky and that an investigation is being conducted to find the intruder. There are no civilian aircraft flying over the city and the Leningrad Region, according to data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24. Moscow to St. Petersburg flights can be seen either circling or turning back around.
Quoting an unnamed source the VChK OGPU Telegram channel reported: “An unidentified flying object was spotted in the morning 180km [112 miles] from St. Petersburg in the area of one of the military facilities.
“Pulkovo Airport [St Petersburg] was closed on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defence.” Fighter jets were stationed over the city, which is 550 miles away from the closest location in Ukraine and has not yet been attacked in the conflict.
At least five Russian military planes, according to the source, were flying in the sky in preparation to capture the drone. Two aircraft, a Su-35 and a MiG-31, were reportedly flying, according to local site 112. It comes as a helicopter crashed near Murmansk during its landing approach according to the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
The incident injured four out of eight passengers on board with casualties having to be evacuated by snowmobile. A source told the Russian TASS news agency: “A helicopter crashed when landing three kilometers from Murmansk airport. “There were eight people on board, according to preliminary information, four people were injured.”
