Ukraine also attacked a Moscow oil refinery, part of a larger wave of drone strikes inside Russia
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Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for the second time in less than a week, disrupting air traffic at Moscow’s airports in one of its worst drone attacks since Russia invaded its neighbor more than four years ago, Russian officials said Thursday.
Photos and video released by Russian media showed massive fires burning at the Moscow Oil Refinery, located 15 kilometers from the Kremlin. Dark clouds appeared over the city.
The refinery is one of the largest in Russia, according to its official website, and accounts for more than a third of the major region’s fuel market. It was last attacked by Ukrainian airstrikes on Tuesday, and caught fire, but officials said the fire was quickly extinguished.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to reduce Moscow’s spending on the war and make the Russians feel the consequences of the attack.
Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow’s busiest, grounded flights and evacuated, with some people seeking shelter in the parking lot, the airport said in a statement. The restrictions were later lifted.
Russia, meanwhile, has fired missiles at Kyiv, and for the second time this week, following an attack that destroyed a 1,000-year-old Kyiv monastery and prompted worldwide condemnation.
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Hundreds of drones have been fired, Russia says
In the regions near Moscow, the plane hit a building in the city of Zhukovsky, and the building was being evacuated, according to Gov. Andrei Vorobyov, who said 16 people were injured in the Ukrainian drone attack.
Elsewhere in the region, drone debris hit people’s houses, a car, a fitness center, an unspecified industrial area and a large shopping mall, the roof of which collapsed, Vorobyov said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense planes overnight shot down 555 Ukrainian drones in multiple locations, and nearly 200 were intercepted as they approached the Russian capital.
For nearly four years the Russians have been capturing and destroying Ukrainian territory, but that Russian advance appears to have stalled. Nationally, CBC’s Terence McKenna breaks down how the drone war has shifted momentum.
That was nearly double the number of drones Russia launched into Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s military.
The attack was the latest embarrassment for Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a Ukrainian airliner attacked his home city of St.
Putin was on Thursday in Kazan, 700 kilometers east of Moscow, hosting leaders of the United Nations’ Southeast Asian Nations as Russia seeks to strengthen business and other ties with the region’s nations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack on Moscow was part of Ukraine’s efforts to force Putin to come to the negotiating table.
“This is a fully justified response to Russia’s attacks on our cities and communities, and another important result of our military operations against Russian military bases,” he said on social media.
“It is time for the war to end, and Russia must take the necessary steps to address it.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told X: “One of the most popular questions from Muscovites this morning is ‘What’s going on?’ I can answer. Your country has started a war of violence against ours. It has been killing our people for years. Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he plans to end it. “
Funded with G7 support
As well as receiving pledges of diplomatic and military aid from Western allies at the G7 summit, Ukraine has recently gained momentum on the battlefield against Russia’s massive military thanks to its high-tech aircraft, Western officials and analysts say.
As well as disrupting Russian oil production, long-range drone strikes are choking Russian supply lines into populated areas of Ukraine.
The attack came hours after Zelenskyy said he had “held an important coordination call” with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron that could “bring a big change.”
Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that his country had received important pledges of support from world leaders attending the G7 meeting in France, including the United States.
Macron said the G7 summit is “very important for Ukraine” because its supporters – especially the United States – have vowed to help it, although the French president did not give details.
“America is with us in Ukraine, that is very important,” Macron said.
The US under Trump has cut aid to Ukraine, leaving the Europeans as the main providers of military and financial aid. Trump and Zelenskyy have had a strained relationship at times.
