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Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, hitting a major oil refinery in the Russian capital and sending thick black smoke billowing into parts of the city, according to Russian officials and multiple reports.
Moscow’s oil refinery in Kapotnya – one of the capital’s key fuel hubs – was hit on Thursday night, the second strike reported at the site in three days. Videos circulating online showed huge flames and black smoke rising from the facility, and Russian officials said air defenses intercepted incoming waves.
Kyiv says its offensive deep into Russia is proof it is changing the course of the war – a message President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took this week to President Donald Trump and other G7 leaders at a summit in France.
The latest strikes underscore a new phase of the war, as Ukraine continues to be able to hit high-value targets inside Russia while Moscow struggles to prevent drones from reaching politically and economically sensitive areas near the capital.
‘NEW KINDS OF WARFARE’: COMBAT DRONES ARE HIDDEN INSIDE UKRAINE FACTORIES
Smoke and flames billow over Moscow on June 18, 2026, following a Ukrainian jet attack that hit the Kapotnya oil refinery and other targets in the Russian capital. (East2West)
“This is pure hell, I’ve never been so scared,” said a Moscow resident after the attack, according to East2West News.
One resident, according to the store, asked: “Why won’t this madman stop his crazy and senseless war and end the death and destruction?”
East2West also reported that tight security has been deployed around the Kremlin, Red Square has been closed off and machine gunners have been placed on towers, walls and near the Bolsheviks’ founder Vladimir Lenin’s Mausoleum.
The Mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, said that the Air Defense Forces shot down more than 130 drones approaching the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry said more than 550 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight in several regions, although battlefield claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
PUTIN ATTACK VIDEO PUNISHED AS US OFFICIALS SAY UKRAINE HAS NOT IDENTIFIED A LEADER.
Moscow’s Kapotnya oil refinery burns after being hit by a Ukrainian jet on June 18, 2026, in the Russian capital. (East2West)
The attack disrupted daily life across Moscow, forcing the temporary grounding of flights at major airports and road restrictions near the refinery. Russian officials said debris also fell near the Sadovod mall, damaging a building. The governor of Moscow region said 16 people were injured in the widespread attack.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha poked fun at the confusion in Moscow, writing in 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. “
The strike appeared to expose a vulnerability in Moscow’s heavily fortified defense system, sparking a war in the Russian capital as the Kremlin continues its long-range missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.
RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINIAN DRONES HIT NUCLEAR FACILITY DURING INCIDENTS ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
Explosions are seen over Moscow after Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian capital, including the Kapotnya oil refinery, on June 18, 2026. (East2West)
The Kapotnya refinery is an important strategic target. A previous Ukrainian drone strike damaged part of the refinery in recent days, according to Reuters, and forced other operations to stop.
East2West reported that the refinery supplies 40 percent of Moscow’s fuel market and 70 percent of the region’s fuel and aviation needs.
Ukraine is increasingly targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure in an effort to undermine Moscow’s war machine and increase the domestic costs of war within Russia. Kyiv described the strikes as part of its “prolonged sanctions” campaign against Russia’s oil and military infrastructure.
The attack in Moscow came as President Vladimir Putin hosted leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kazan, Russia. It is reported that Ukraine has also achieved goals related to Russian supply routes to Crimea, including road and rail infrastructure. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that separating Crimea is a key military objective as Kyiv seeks to weaken Russia’s grip on the peninsula, which Moscow illegally seized in 2014.
Russia has continued its strikes in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have reported that Russia is attacking energy and oil facilities in the Poltava and Kyiv regions.
East2West reported that Russia is deploying Tu-95MS bombers across the country, raising concerns that Moscow may be preparing another major strike against Ukraine in the coming days.
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Emergency workers work to put out a car fire following a Russian airstrike in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 5, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP)
Zelenskyy said the war could end if Putin agreed to genuine peace talks, while accusing Moscow of escalating the conflict and using the talks as a means of further aggression.
Reuters contributed to this report.
