Ukraine drone attack hits Moscow refinery and disrupts airports
Moscow officials said nearly 200 drones were downed, while Ukrainian officials framed the strikes as retaliation for Russian attacks on cities.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow early Thursday, striking the city’s main oil refinery and forcing airport shutdowns, NPR reported. The attack showed Ukraine’s growing effort to hit Russian energy targets far from the front as the war enters its fifth year.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defenses destroyed nearly 200 Ukrainian drones as they approached the capital, according to NPR. He also said several drones reached the Moscow oil refinery, marking the second time this week the facility had been hit.
Black smoke rose from the area around the Gazprom Neft refinery on the outskirts of Moscow, according to an AFP photo cited by NPR. Videos circulating online appeared to show repeated impacts at the site, with blasts sending flames into the air.
NPR reported that Russian interceptions may have contributed to damage elsewhere in the city. In one case, a drone hit a large shopping complex in southeast Moscow and started a fire; in another, a drone struck a high-rise apartment building, though it was not clear whether that building was an intended target or was hit after air defenses engaged the drone.
Moscow authorities said 17 people were injured, according to NPR. The city’s four airports suspended operations for much of the day as smoke remained visible over parts of the skyline hours after the strikes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not immediately comment on the attack, NPR reported. He was not in Moscow at the time and had traveled to Kazan for a regional Asian summit.
The strike drew criticism from Russian hard-liners who argued that the attack challenged the Kremlin’s public assurances that its war in Ukraine was under control. Konstantin Malofeev, a businessman who funds the nationalist outlet Tsargrad, wrote on Telegram that Russia should escalate its response, according to NPR.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure in recent months, NPR reported, as part of an effort to damage Moscow’s ability to fund the war and make Russians feel more directly the consequences of the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the latest strikes in an online statement, calling them a justified answer to heavy Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities. He also wrote that Russia should take diplomatic steps to end the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said later Thursday that it had carried out what it called precision strikes on Ukrainian defense and energy facilities in response to the drone attack, according to NPR.
The exchange came as President Trump has shown renewed interest in Ukraine diplomacy after months of limited engagement, NPR reported. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow expected White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to return soon, though no dates had been set.
Ushakov said the expected visit could help restart direct U.S.-Russian talks on Ukraine, according to NPR. He also said Trump had received “unhelpful if not harmful ideas” at the G7 summit in France, where European leaders argued that Ukraine had gained the upper hand in the war.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.