At least three of the five aircraft were returning from Turkmenistan, where Vladimir Putin attended a CIS summit, according to several Russian outlets and Telegram channels that noted the flight patterns.
Flightradar24 data showed two Il-96 planes, tail numbers RA-96020 and RA-96022, performing maneuvers over the capital and the Moscow region. Both left Turkmenbashi airport at 14:00 and 14:15 and landed at Vnukovo at 18:06 and 18:21.
A third Il-96, tail number RA-96025, departed Turkmenbashi at 15:52 and overflew Moscow even though it was due to land at Vnukovo. It was diverted to Pulkovo in St. Petersburg, where it touched down at 17:38 and took off again for Moscow at 18:10. According to TV Rain, this was the plane Putin flew to Turkmenistan on October 8. It is not known for certain which aircraft he was on for the return trip.
TASS reported at 13:52 that the president had completed his visit to Turkmenistan and boarded one of the Rossiya squadron's planes preparing to depart Turkmenbashi. Agentstvo suggested Putin may have been aboard RA-96025.
Restrictions were introduced at all Moscow airports around 15:40 and fully lifted by 18:40-19:00. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported at the time that a drone attack was being repelled. Ostorozhno, Novosti estimated that more than 200 flights were delayed and more than a hundred canceled amid the restrictions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened in early September to "close the sky" over Russia. Putin called the statement "a claim to state terrorism." In response to the threats, Russia's Transport Ministry said Russian aviation services would not allow "significant interruptions" in civil aviation operations.