Ukraine's Largest Drone Attack on Moscow Sets Oil Refinery Ablaze

Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since the war began, hitting a major oil refinery and forcing the capital's airports to suspend flights. The attack targeted a key refinery in the Kapotnya district, sparking flames and massive columns of smoke over the city. The scale of the long-range assault caught many Moscow residents off guard, triggering panic messages on social media. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses were repelling a large-scale attack. He reported that several drones hit the refinery, and a shopping center also suffered damage. Sobyanin added that around 180 drones were shot down as they approached the capital. At least seven drones apparently bypassed Russian air defenses to strike targets in the city, including a skyscraper in the Zhukovsky district. Traffic was halted on Moscow's ring road near the refinery, and flights at Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports were disrupted. This was the second attack on the refinery in two days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called such strikes "a fair response to Russian attacks." A previous attack on Tuesday had already halted operations at the refinery, adding to widespread damage to Russian energy facilities and worsening a domestic fuel crisis. Russia, the world's third-largest oil producer, will now import fuel by sea this month to address shortages caused by intense Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries. In the Moscow region, a high-rise residential building, an industrial facility, and several private homes were damaged. Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow's busiest, suspended flights and evacuated passengers. Russia claimed its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 555 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight. The actual number could not be independently confirmed. Meanwhile, Kyiv suffered its second aerial attack this week, with Russia launching ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital. Authorities urged residents to take cover. In the northeastern city of Sumy, one person died in a drone attack. Air raid alerts were issued across most of Ukraine. One person was killed in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, home to most staff at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to the Russian-appointed mayor. In Russia's border region of Belgorod, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a man in his car. On Wednesday, Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking a bus carrying Belarusian children, a claim Kyiv dismissed as false. In Russia's Rostov region, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and sparked a fire at two commercial facilities. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.