On the evening of 27 October, a drone was spotted near Alicante International Airport in Spain. The incident forced the airport to temporarily suspend all arrivals and departures, DW reports, citing a statement from the management of Miguel Hernández Airport.

It is not the first time that drones have been documented over Spanish airports. On 20 October, The Mirror reported that it was detected in the airspace above Palma de Mallorca Airport.

The attack caused chaos for thousands of passengers, as all flights were suspended. Due to the emergency halt, at least 12 flights were redirected to other airports across Spain.

Airport in darkness: operations halted

After the drone was detected, several flights were redirected to nearby airports.

According to the Spanish news agency EFE, the unmanned aerial vehicle was seen close to the runway, prompting authorities to close the airport in line with safety protocols until they could confirm there were no other unidentified objects in the area.

Routes changed: flights redirected to neighboring airports

The airport resumed operations about two hours later, around 11:00 p.m. local time. Spain’s airport and air navigation authority AENA said that ten flights from Amsterdam, Lanzarote, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Paris, Kraków, and Frankfurt-Hahn were diverted to airports in Valencia, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, and Barcelona.

Investigation and technology trace the source

Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police launched an investigation to determine who launched the drone and from where. The National Police deployed experts from its drone detection unit to the Torrellano area near the airport, using the AeroScope system — a technology capable of detecting, tracking, and neutralizing drones in restricted airspace.

Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is fighting not only against Ukraine — he is attacking all of Europe. He has unleashed a hybrid war against Germany and is trying to undermine Europe's political order. 

Merz added that the growing number of drone attacks in Germany and across Europe is part of Russia’s effort to intimidate the West.

A former deputy mayor for Kharkiv is facing multiple charges related to creating and leading a scheme that allegedly embezzled 5.4 million hryvnias ($130,000) of budget funds allocated for fortifications, law enforcement agencies announced on June 28.

Ukraine's military as well as public officials has seen several corruption scandals since the start of Russia's full-scale war, related to illicit enrichment, money laundering, bribery, and misconduct of the command.

A total of four people, including two company heads and two entrepreneurs, were arrested alongside the former official, the National Police said.

The scheme allegedly involved a shell company procuring purchased materials for fortifications at prices over 30% above market value.

While authorities did not name the former official, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the suspect in question is Andrii Rudenko, Kharkiv's Deputy Mayor for Housing and Communal Services between 2015 and 2024.

Authorities did not publicly release the identities of the remaining suspects.

The five suspects are currently facing charges under 17 articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code, with motions filed to impose pre-trial detention without bail.

It was not immediately clear as to the maximum sentence the suspects may receive if found guilty, however, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said that he will seek for "stolen budget funds must be fully returned to the state."

Law enforcement agents have previously arrested Kharkiv officials with corruption related charges.

In April, authorities charged a total of eight individuals, including local officials and entrepreneurs, accused of colluding with contractors to supply firewood to the military at prices significantly above market value. Several officials and entrepreneurs of housing and utilities departments in several regions, including Kharkiv, were allegedly implicated.

Ukrainian drone strike on Crimea air base destroys 3 Russian helicopters, SBU claims

The attack destroyed Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28 attack helicopters, and a Pantsyr-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun system, the Security Service of Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova