Ukraine hits Moscow refinery in major drone attack on Russian capital
Major Drone Attack Escalates Tensions Between Ukraine and Russia
By Max Hunder and Jekaterina Golubkova
June 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow on Thursday, hitting the Russian capital's oil refinery for the second time this week in what Kyiv cast as a response to an attack that damaged a nearly 1,000-year-old monastery in the city.
Ukrainian Response and Presidential Statement
"We don't want this war, we never did, and everyone knows it, and our partners know it," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a voice message sent to reporters on a WhatsApp group. "But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn."
Russian Counterstrikes and Local Impact
Russia, for its part, fired missiles into Kyiv, also for the second time this week, following the attack that damaged the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery and drew international condemnation. Russia denied striking it.
In Moscow, Reuters saw flames and plumes of smoke over the densely populated southeastern district of Kapotnya where the refinery supplying the capital is located.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that several drones managed to reach the refinery, adding that a shopping centre also suffered minor damage.
Damage Assessment in Moscow
DIPLOMATIC PUSH
Russia's defence ministry said 555 drones were shot down across the country. Sobyanin said 180 were shot down around Moscow alone. State news agency TASS said the attack on Moscow was one of the biggest this year.
Zelenskiy confirmed the attack on the refinery. Ukraine's military said that Ukrainian forces also hit an oil depot in Russia's southern Rostov region and another two bridges as Kyiv intensifies its campaign to hamper Russia's logistics.
Ukraine's Drone Strategy and War Momentum
More than four years since Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has increasingly been targeting Russia's energy infrastructure with long-range drone strikes, while Russia has continued firing missiles at Ukrainian cities.
After years when Russian forces made slow but relentless gains on the battlefield, Kyiv says its improving drone capabilities are shifting the war's momentum in its favour, providing new impetus for Moscow to agree a peace deal.
Zelenskiy has launched a diplomatic push to increase pressure on Russia to negotiate an end to the war.
International Reactions and Ukrainian Diplomacy
"One of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is 'What is going on?' I can answer. Your country started a war of aggression against ours. For years, it has been killing our people. Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X.
Moscow's Stance and Prospects for Peace Talks
MOSCOW SAYS ATTACK PUSHES BACK PROSPECT FOR TALKS
Moscow, which says Ukraine is losing, has demanded Kyiv cede its territory before it will discuss peace.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that Ukraine's latest attacks on Russia are pushing back the prospect of any direct contacts between President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy, the Interfax news agency reported.
Zelenskiy called the attacks on Russia a "totally fair response to Russian strikes on our cities and communities and another important result of the work of our soldiers on facilities that provide support for the Russian war machine".
Impact on Russian Energy Infrastructure
A drone strike on Tuesday on Moscow's refinery had already halted operations there, sources said, adding to widespread damage to Russian energy facilities.
Russia, the world's third-biggest oil producer and a major oil and fuel exporter, is set to import fuel by sea this month as it seeks to manage a gasoline shortage following Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries, according to industry sources.
Collateral Damage and Civilian Impact
In the surrounding Moscow region, a high-rise residential building, an industrial facility and a number of private houses were damaged in the drone attack, which also injured 16 people, the regional governor said.
Flights were suspended at all Moscow airports and traffic shut on the highway around the capital near the refinery. Sheremetyevo airport, Moscow's busiest, said it had been evacuated.
Elsewhere in Russia, officials said a Ukrainian drone strike killed a man in his car in the Belgorod border region, and a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and caused a fire at two commercial facilities in the Rostov region.
Explosions and Attacks in Ukraine
EXPLOSIONS IN KYIV
Meanwhile explosions rang out in Kyiv and airstrike alerts were issued for most of Ukraine's territory.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said Russia was attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. There were no further reports from the authorities on damage or casualties in the city.
Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy said one person was killed in a drone attack overnight, while a man was killed and a further 11 people were injured in a Russian attack on the southeastern city of Dnipro early on Thursday, the regional governor said.
(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv, Jekaterina Golubkova in Tokyo, Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk and Reuters Moscow bureau;Editing by Peter Graff and Alison Williams)
