Overview

• Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, via TASS, said Russian air defenses shot down 44 unmanned aerial vehicles headed toward Moscow between late Sept. 22 and early Sept. 23, with no injuries reported.
• More than 200 flights at four Moscow airports were delayed or canceled, and independent outlets reported explosion sounds across southern parts of the city.
• RBK, citing a source close to the Defense Ministry, reported Ukraine may have employed balloons, a detail not independently confirmed.
• At a Japan National Press Club debate, LDP leadership contenders Toshimitsu Motegi, Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi said they would not rule out discussing a consumption‑tax cut with opposition parties.
• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will issue a personal message for the war’s 80th anniversary rather than a cabinet statement, Hayashi Yoshimasa backed redundancy for core government functions, and Koizumi faced concentrated questioning with notably cautious replies.