Thick black smoke billowed over south-east Moscow on Thursday as a major oil refinery burned for the third time in a month, the centrepiece of what Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” — the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Close to 200 drones struck targets around Moscow, according to local officials, with at least 17 people wounded in the Moscow region, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said. An oil depot in the southern Rostov region was also hit, killing one person.
“Almost 200 drones struck Moscow, setting an oil refinery ablaze and shutting all four airports, as Zelenskyy called for diplomacy.”
The Kapotnya refinery, which supplies up to 40% of Moscow’s petrol and about 50% of its diesel fuel, was struck for the second time this week. Videos showed the lid of a large oil storage tank blown dozens of metres into the air by the force of an explosion. A nearby shopping centre was also burning after drone debris fell on the building, and several residential high-rise blocks were evacuated.
All four of Moscow’s airports — Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo — shut arrivals and departures, with more than 500 flights cancelled or delayed.
Zelenskyy said the attack was a direct response to Russia’s strike on Kyiv last week that set a historic monastery complex ablaze. “We do not want this war and never did,” the Ukrainian president said in a voice message. “But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too. It is time to end this war, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy.”
Russia’s foreign minister responded by announcing huge “group strikes” on Ukraine “on a regular basis”. Russia’s defence ministry said almost 1,000 drones and four cruise missiles had been intercepted and destroyed across the country in 24 hours, though the number could not be independently confirmed.
Many Moscow residents learned of the attack only from messages on social media. “No SMS at all, no sirens. All the information is in local chats – there’s a lot more there than on TV,” one resident told the independent news site Meduza.
The strike came as Vladimir Putin hosted leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kazan, 430 miles east of Moscow, seeking to bolster ties. Zelenskyy said he had held an “important coordination call” with the presidents of the US and France, winning pledges of further support from this week’s G7 summit.
It is a regular Ukrainian tactic to send reconnaissance decoy drones to map air defences before the main strikes begin. Kyiv’s long-range capabilities have grown steadily since the first successful drone strikes reached Moscow in spring 2023, and Thursday’s assault marked a dramatic escalation in the air war, bringing devastation to the heart of Russia’s capital.