Russia Reports Intercepting Over 500 Ukrainian Drones Following Moscow Strikes
Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in southeast Moscow for the second time in three days on June 18 2026 igniting a large fire that caused widespread disruption across the Russian capital including airport evacuations and flight suspensions after Russia strikes on Ukrainian cities. The blast was so powerful that the huge disc-shaped lid of an oil storage tank was launched into the sky over Moscow like a frisbee. [1] Evading Russian air defences, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in southeast Moscow on Thursday for the second time in three days, igniting a fierce blaze that spewed out clouds of black smoke. [1]
Drones Hit Moscow Refinery for Second Time in Three Days
Ukrainian drones hit a Moscow oil refinery for the second time in three days, sparking a large fire near the Russian capital. [1] The blast was so powerful that the huge disc-shaped lid of an oil storage tank was launched into the sky over Moscow like a frisbee. [1] Evading Russian air defences, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in southeast Moscow on Thursday for the second time in three days, igniting a fierce blaze that spewed out clouds of black smoke. [1] The attacks are part of a wider Ukrainian campaign to cripple the oil industry whose revenues finance Russia's war effort. [1] By striking with apparent impunity at a piece of critical infrastructure located inside Moscow's ring road, just 16 km from the Kremlin, Ukraine is also sending a message to ordinary Russians. [1] Images of fire and destruction in the Russian capital spread rapidly across the internet. [1]
Widespread Disruption Across Russian Capital
Throughout more than four years of war, political analysts and opinion pollsters say many Russians have sought to shut out the reality of the conflict. [1] Moscow has been periodically hit by drones since as far back as May 2023. [1] On Thursday, however, there was major disruption across the capital. [1] Flights were suspended at all Moscow airports and traffic halted on the highway around the city near the refinery. [1] Sheremetyevo airport, Moscow's busiest, was evacuated. [1] In online chat rooms, some residents complained about the lack of warning, saying no sirens had sounded. [1] A Moscow news channel reported that suburban residents said a shower of rain had left spots and smears of oil on cars and window sills. [1] Moscow’s airports were shut for hours, leading to hundreds of flight delays. [2] The country’s busiest — Sheremetyevo — announced it had evacuated passengers to safe locations during the barrage, before it re-opened at around 11am. [2] Another drone crashed into an apartment building, while drone debris sparked a fire at a shopping centre near the capital’s suburbs. [2]
Casualties and Russian Defensive Response
At least 17 people were wounded in the strikes, which also set a shopping centre and apartment building ablaze, authorities said. [2] Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that several drones had reached the Moscow oil refinery, without specifying damage to the facility. [2] Authorities announced they had closed traffic on the streets nearby. [2] Russian air defences shot down around 180 drones on approach to Moscow, Sobyanin said, while the defence ministry reported it had intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones across the entire country overnight. [2]
Ukrainian Statements and Strategic Intent
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X that one of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is what is going on and that the country started a war of aggression. [1] Kyiv says its strikes deep inside Russia are evidence that it is turning the tide of the war. [1] Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was an absolutely justified response to deadly strikes on Kyiv. [2] He said he wanted Russians to put pressure on Putin for the consequences of Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. [2] The main thing is that the people of Russia begin to feel that it is one man, Putin, who is waging this war, while ordinary people pay the price for everything, Zelensky told reporters. [2] Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said the large-scale drone attack on Moscow on the night of 17-18 June has fundamentally changed the course of the war in Ukraine's favour. [4] Nausėda also highlighted the development of Ukraine's defence industry, which is producing huge numbers of drones. [4]
Russian Reactions and Vows of Retaliation
A Kremlin aide denied on Thursday that the battlefield situation was shifting in Ukraine's favour. [1] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov vowed Moscow would retaliate with its own massive strikes on Ukraine. [2] Andrei Medvedev, a pro-government blogger and Russian TV host, said those who posted footage should be prosecuted. [1] A few days ago, some idiots filmed and posted the video, and the enemy watched it, assessed it, and adjusted the next strike, he wrote on Telegram. [1] Putin has long sought to project stability in Russia, despite the economic and social effects of his four-year offensive on Ukraine. [2] After Kyiv launched similar attacks on Saint Petersburg earlier this month, the Russian leader promised to bolster air defences. [2]
Broader Context of Oil Industry Attacks
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces struck the Rostovnefteprodukt oil depot and a fuel and lubricant storage facility in Russia's Rostov Oblast on the night of 17-18 June. [5] Several SOF drones reached their targets with fires and destruction recorded at the facilities. [5] The targeted facilities form part of a system used for the storage, transshipment and distribution of fuel and lubricants, petrol, diesel fuel and other petroleum products. [5] In a sign of the broader economic impact of Ukrainian attacks, gasoline shortages have emerged in some parts of the country in recent weeks. [1] Russia, the world's third-biggest oil producer and a major oil and fuel exporter, is set to import fuel by sea this month. [1] Moscow authorities said the petrol situation in and around the capital was normal, but the federal anti-monopoly watchdog asked a major retailer to explain why it had hiked prices by 19 per cent in the past week for the most popular grade of gasoline. [1] Nausėda said what is happening right now in Moscow is a game changer in this war, because the Russian population will start to realise that this is not about watching the war on the TV screens, but this is about the war on their own soil. [4]
What to watch next: Diplomatic talks on ending the more than four-year conflict remain stalled, with Zelensky stating it is time the war ended and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy while Russia also launched more than 200 drones and multiple ballistic missiles at Ukraine between late Wednesday and early Thursday. [2]
