Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, reported a massive malfunction in its information system on July 28, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Moscow after an alleged cyberattack.

“There has been a failure in the airline’s information systems. Service disruptions are possible,” the Russian flag carrier said on Telegram without clarifying the cause of the disruptions.

A pro-Ukrainian hacker group named Silent Crow has claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack on Aeroflot’s IT infrastructure, allegedly conducted in cooperation with the Belarusian opposition hacktivist group, the Cyber Partisans BY.

“For a year, we were inside their corporate network, methodically developing access, going deep into the very core of the infrastructure,” the hackers claimed on their Telegram channel.

The hacker group claimed to have completely destroyed the company’s IT infrastructure, including 7,000 physical and virtual servers, and gained access to 20 terabytes of data.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

Aeroflot announced that nearly 50 flights to and from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, including connections to Astrakhan, Grozny, Kaliningrad, Minsk, Yerevan, and elsewhere, were canceled due to the malfunction.

“At present, a team of specialists is working to minimize the risks to the flight operation schedule and to restore normal service operations as quickly as possible,” the company said.

Rossiya and Pobeda airlines, which are part of the same group as Aeroflot, have not reported any disruptions.

Silent Crow has claimed responsibility for several hacking attacks in the past, including the one targeting Russia’s state cadastre and cartography agency in January.

Kyiv has not commented on the latest hack. Both Russia and Ukraine have widely used cyberattacks to target government institutions and key businesses during the full-scale war.

Editor’s note: The article was expanded with additional comments by Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene.

An unidentified drone entered Lithuanian airspace on the morning of July 28, most likely from the direction of Belarus, the LRT public broadcaster reported.

“According to received reports, a drone was spotted at an altitude of about 200 meters, last seen near Vilnius,” said Darius Buta, a representative of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center, according to LRT.

“It is unclear what type of drone it is; we will update the information.”

The news follows multiple instances of Russian Shahed-type attack drones veering off course toward NATO territory during aerial attacks on Ukraine.

Lithuanian authorities said that all relevant services are working to locate the drone’s possible crash site and warned residents not to approach the unmanned aircraft under any circumstances.

“Today, the weather is favorable for weather balloons, which smugglers use to fly their goods. We cannot yet specify what type of object or objects it is,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene stressed in comments for LRT Radio.

The minister also noted that the upcoming military exercises in Belarus increase the likelihood of incidents, even unintentional ones.

The Zapad-2025 drills, expected to take place in mid-September, will involve around 13,000 troops and are among the largest joint exercises held by Russia and Belarus.

Later in the day, Sakaliene suggested the drone may have strayed into Lithuanian airspace after being jammed by Ukrainian defenses. “There are no indications” that the incident was a result of a deliberate provocation, she added.

Russia launched 324 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight on July 28, of which 309 were intercepted by Ukrainian defenses, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

The Lithuanian military announced it would reinforce air defenses at the country’s border with Belarus following the incident.

Belarus has been a key ally to Russia during its full-scale war against Ukraine, allowing Russian forces to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for military operations. Minsk has also recently escalated its hybrid operations against the EU by again funnelling illegal migrants to its borders, Ukrainian intelligence warned.

In a separate incident, a drone flew from Belarus into Lithuanian airspace on July 10. Though it was initially identified as a Shahed-type drone, Lithuanian border guards later clarified it was a homemade plywood drone that posed no danger.

Last September, a Russian drone with an armed warhead crashed in neighboring Latvia. Russian drones or missiles have also strayed into the territory of Poland, Moldova, and Romania during past attacks on Ukraine.

Katya’s phone suddenly refused to provide the basics she needed to drive home to Moscow from St. Petersburg. She, her partner and countless others were unable to go online, cut off from their apps for things like maps, banking, paying road tolls and buying fuel.

There was no warning, no hint how widespread the outage was, no clue how long it would last — but it wasn’t a surprise, either. Russia’s mobile internet networks now have frequent blackouts because of the war with Ukraine.

Since last month, the authorities have shut those networks down every day in various parts of the country, in unpredictable patterns, for hours at a time. The goal is to try to thwart attacks by Ukrainian drones that analysts say have used mobile networks for navigation.

It is a big disruption in a country where smartphones provide the only online access for millions of people. The government regularly touts an array of online services, like filing tax returns and applying for jobs, and President Vladimir V. Putin claimed this year that Russia was “a step ahead of many other nations.”

Russian air defenses intercepted a drone headed toward Moscow on Aug. 23, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He said fragments of the drone were being examined on the ground. No casualties were reported.

The Kyiv Independent couldn’t immediately verify these claims.

In response to concerns over airspace safety, Russia’s federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, temporarily suspended operations at multiple airports in major cities of the Volga and Central regions of European Russia—including Izhevsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Penza, Tambov, and Ulyanovsk.

Ukrainian officials often say these drone strikes are intended to degrade Russia’s strike capabilities and bring the consequences of the war closer to those supporting the Kremlin’s aggression.

Authorities in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, also reported significant flight delays as a result. Several Russian airlines, including Rossiya and Pobeda announced they were adjusting their schedules in response to the airspace restrictions.

Separately on the same day, two windows were damaged while shooting down a drone over the “Ogni Zaliva” residential complex in St. Petersburg’s Krasnoselsky district, Deputy Governor Yevgeny Razumishkin said via his Telegram channel.

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov earlier reported that a drone had been intercepted in the Krasnoselsky district, with no injuries reported. Another drone was also reportedly downed in the city’s Pushkinsky district.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 32 drones had been intercepted and destroyed over several central regions during a three-hour window.

The Ministry later reported that a total of 57 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over several central regions and over the Black Sea.

Drones were spotted and explosions were heard in the city of Stary Oskol in Belgorod Oblast, Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash claimed.

The reports come as both U.S. President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky advocate for a negotiated resolution to Russia’s war, now in its 12th year. However, past efforts at peace talks have repeatedly broken down due to the Kremlin’s ultimatums and rigid demands.

Zelensky has continued to push for a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin without preconditions, arguing that such a step could offer a real opportunity to bring the full-scale war to an end.

Aeroflot airline announced changes in its flight schedule due to the re-imposition of restrictions on aircraft reception and departure, particularly in Nizhny Novgorod. This is reported by UNN with reference to Russian media.

“Aeroflot” stated that it is adjusting its schedule due to restrictions on the use of airspace – the company emphasizes.

Meanwhile, residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg are reporting flight delays on social media. The reasons are not yet known. There have been no official statements.

Recall

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