Russia said Thursday it would answer with new, large-scale strikes on Ukraine after what it described as Kyiv’s biggest drone attack on Moscow in two years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the armed forces were “working on it, and will continue to do so.” The attack damaged energy infrastructure, triggered panic around the capital, and injured 16 people.
According to Moscow, air defenses intercepted 555 Ukrainian drones nationwide, nearly 200 of them heading for Moscow. Still, several reached a Gazprom oil facility in the southeastern suburbs of the capital, striking the depot for a second time this week. Video showed fire and thick smoke rising from the site, and a large fuel tank’s roof being thrown into the air after an explosion. Russian authorities shut down operations at all four major Moscow airports, including Sheremetyevo. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed drones hit the oil site, and residents reported debris falling on residential buildings and other areas.
Ukraine said the drone strike was retaliation for Russia’s major assault on Kyiv on Monday, which killed at least 10 people and destroyed the 1,000-year-old Cave Monastery, a symbol of the Ukrainian capital. President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow could “burn” if the attacks continue, saying, “We do not want this war and never wanted it, but if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn.”
Zelensky also said the strikes hit targets in Russia’s Rostov region and in Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine. Speaking from Brussels after arriving for the NATO summit, he said the attacks on Russian energy sites were a “fair response” against facilities supporting Russia’s war machine. He said Russia is being forced to import fuel by sea because of growing shortages, and noted that one of the damaged refineries supplies more than a third of Moscow region’s fuel. Russia’s consumer watchdog also sought an explanation from the fuel retailer Neftegazmagistral after it raised 95-octane gasoline prices by 19% in a week, from about 80 rubles on June 15 to around 95 rubles per liter today.
