Ukraine Launches Largest Ever Drone Attack on Moscow Targeting Key Oil Refinery

Ukraine launched its largest-ever drone attack on Moscow, deploying hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles that triggered heavy explosions and sparked a fire at a major oil refinery on the south-eastern outskirts of the Russian capital, according to reports by the Financial Times, BBC, The Guardian, and CNN.

Scale of the Moscow Drone Attack

According to CNBC, Ukrainian forces conducted the large-scale air raid across Wednesday evening and Thursday, utilizing nearly 200 drones in what authorities confirmed as the biggest-ever strike on Russia’s capital. Fox News reported that Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated 450 drones were destroyed en route to the city by Russian air defenses, while Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed its forces shot down a total of 1,110 Ukrainian drones across the country, Crimea, and the Black Sea. Local Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that two people were killed and 20 wounded in the Moscow region during the barrage, according to Fox News, while CNBC noted that 16 people were injured and four Moscow airports temporarily grounded flights.

Impact on Energy Infrastructure and Parliamentary Elections

The assault heavily targeted the Gazprom Moscow Refinery, a facility supplying 40 percent of the city’s fuel, which caught fire and sent columns of black smoke billowing over the south-eastern outskirts of the city, according to the Financial Times, Ukrainian Pravda, and CNBC. The strikes coincided with the third and final day of Russia’s parliamentary elections. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin asserted on Telegram, as cited by Fox News, that This unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed. Russian “milbloggers” monitoring the conflict raised concerns regarding Russian air defenses and domestic censorship following the strikes, according to assessments by the Institute for the Study of War cited by CNBC.

Diplomatic Reactions and Threat of Escalation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the operation in social media statements reported by CNBC and Fox News, calling it a fully justified response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and a strike against the financial assets supporting the Russian war machine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded on the sidelines of an event in Kazan by pledging frequent and massive group strikes against Ukraine, telling reporters, It is no coincidence that the president announced some time ago, after yet another Kyiv terrorist attack, that we will now conduct massive group strikes on a regular basis against targets whose condition directly affects the combat readiness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to CNBC and Interfax. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy urged the United States, Europe, and G7 nations to deliver new sanctions and help force an end to the four-year war through diplomatic steps.