Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Tuesday against Moscow and 13 other Russian regions, hitting the Kapotnia refinery, southeast of the capital, in what the EFE agency described as one of the largest attacks of the year on Moscow.
The attack comes a day after Russia launched more than 600 drones and 70 missiles against Ukraine, killing at least 11 people and damaging the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The mayor of Moscow, Serguéi Sobianin, confirmed the incident on the state platform Maks: “Enemy drone attacks against Moscow have continued over the last 24 hours. One of the drones damaged an oil refinery in Moscow. There are no casualties. Emergency services are working at the site.”
Russian authorities claim to have shot down 60 aircraft over the city, while the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the fire has been brought under control, although efforts to extinguish it are ongoing.
According to the Ukrainian side, the Kapotnia refinery processes about 11 million tons of oil per year and meets nearly 40% of the gasoline demand and half of the diesel demand in Moscow, making it a target of high strategic value.
The Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski claimed the attack as a demonstration of offensive capability: "This time, the Moscow region felt the reach of Ukraine's long-range capabilities. An oil refinery was hit at a distance of 500 kilometers," he wrote on social media, sharing images of a drone flying over residential buildings before striking an industrial facility.
"This is a just response to the Russian attacks and the prolongation of a war that must come to an end," the Ukrainian leader added.
The attack extended beyond Moscow: in Krasnodar, an oil depot caught fire following the impact of a drone, and authorities in Briansk reported having downed 16 drones overnight, with another seven intercepted over Kaluga.
In total, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that its air defenses intercepted 172 drones in 14 regions, including Astrakhan, Belgorod, Kursk, Volgograd, Tula, and Rostov, as well as in the Crimean Peninsula and over the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
The immediate context of the attack is the Russian bombing on Monday, which damaged the Kyiv Cave Monastery, a site designated as a World Heritage site, with remnants of at least two Geran-2 drones found in the complex.
Zelenski described the attack as "one of the gravest crimes by Russia against Christian culture," while Moscow denied responsibility and blamed a U.S. Patriot missile without providing evidence.
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian refineries and oil infrastructure as a strategy to erode the revenues that finance the war, demonstrating an increasing ability to penetrate Russian air defenses and reach targets deep within enemy territory.
The largest previous attack of the year against Moscow had occurred on May 17, when Russia claimed to have intercepted 81 drones over the capital out of more than 500 launched by Ukraine.
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