War in Ukraine: kyiv launches drone attack on Moscow, major refinery hit

“A large-scale attack.” In the early hours of Thursday, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack against Moscow in at least two years. Several projectiles hit a major Moscow refinery, confirmed the mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, without specifying the extent of the damage. According to him, air defenses shot down 180 drones that were approaching the Russian capital, while the Russian Defense Ministry said it had intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight.

At least 17 people, including two children, were injured in the Moscow region during these bombings, according to the governor. The strikes also caused fires in the region around the capital. The operation of the Russian capital’s main airports (Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Zhukovsky, Domodedovo) was suspended for several hours before gradually resuming.

« Réfully justifiedé »

Thursday morning, large plumes of black smoke escaped Thursday morning from the refinery of the Russian company Gazpromneft located in the Kapotnia district, in the south-east of Moscow, according to an AFP journalist on site, the soot from the fire mixing with the rain falling on the city. Helicopters were engaged to fight the flames, again according to an AFP journalist, while a pungent and unpleasant smell hung in the air. This refinery, already hit Tuesday by a Ukrainian strike, provides more than a third of the Russian capital’s fuel needs, particularly for its airports, according to information available on its official website.

The attack on this refinery is a “fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on social networks. “The main thing is that the Russian people are starting to feel that one man, Putin, is leading this war, while ordinary people are paying all the price,” he added, in an audio message sent to the press.

Summit for Putin

The attack comes as Vladimir Putin has been hosting Asian leaders since Wednesday evening for a two-day summit between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) organized in Kazan, about 700 kilometers east of Moscow. The question, among other things, of continued deliveries of Russian hydrocarbons to Asia, should in particular be addressed.

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore sent their prime ministers, while the Philippines sent their president, Ferdinand Marcos. The Russian president did not mention the attack on Moscow in his speech during the plenary session Thursday morning.

Find our file on the war in Ukraine

In recent months, kyiv has intensified its drone strikes against Russia, targeting in particular oil infrastructure, in order to dry up the hydrocarbon windfall allowing Moscow to finance its war effort. Ukraine, for its part, is targeted almost daily by Russian bombings: during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, seven missiles and 239 drones attacked its territory, according to the Ukrainian air force.