Ukraine launched a slew of aerial drones into Moscow, striking an oil refinery and disrupting air traffic in what appears to be the largest Ukrainian attack against Russia’s capital city.The attacks are part of a monthslong Ukrainian campaign which has targeted key Russian oil infrastructure miles away from the front lines of the war.Officials said that drones had attacked the Moscow Oil Refinery, the largest fuel supplier to the Moscow region, located roughly 15 miles from the Kremlin. The refinery is essential to the city’s energy infrastructure, processing 11.6 tons of oil in 2024, according to the most recent data.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the incident as a massive drone attack on the Russian capital, claiming that 180 drones had been “shot down on their approach to Moscow.” The Russian Defense Ministry said it stopped over 550 drones in total, with several drones reaching the refinery and sending smoke billowing into the air, according to social media videos. Moscow’s four airports were shut down in response, with most gradually reopening early Thursday.
Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a fully justified response to… pic.twitter.com/NhFl4FlT9L— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 18, 2026
