Moscow, Russia. Ukrainian drones struck Moscow’s oil refinery for the second time this week on Thursday, while Russia launched ballistic missiles at Kyiv in the second air attack on the Ukrainian capital this week. The exchanges came as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought support from the United States and Europe to reach a peace deal.
Drone attack on Moscow
Moscow downed more than five dozen drones on Thursday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. A Reuters witness saw flames and plumes of smoke over the southeastern district of Kapotnya, where the Moscow refinery is located.
Sobyanin said air defense forces were continuing to repel what he described as a massive attack and that several drones had reached the Moscow oil refinery. He also said a shopping centre suffered minor damage.
The attack followed a drone strike on Tuesday that halted operations at the refinery, according to sources. The latest strike added to wider damage to Russian energy facilities and deepened a fuel crisis in the country.
Fuel supply pressure
Russia, the world’s third-biggest oil producer and a major exporter of oil and fuel, is set to import fuel by sea this month as it seeks to manage a gasoline shortage after extensive Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries, according to industry sources.
In the surrounding Moscow region, the regional governor said a high-rise residential building, an industrial facility and several private houses were also damaged in the drone attack.
Sheremetyevo airport, Moscow’s busiest, suspended flights and evacuated people, with some sheltering in the parking area, according to an airport statement. The restrictions were later lifted.
Missile attack on Kyiv
Kyiv came under its second air attack this week as Russia launched ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital, city officials said.
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. Stay in safe places until the air raid alert is over!” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said in a Telegram post early on Thursday.
A Reuters witness heard explosions in Kyiv. Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy said one person was killed in a drone attack. Air strike alerts were issued across most of Ukraine.