Ukraine launches largest attack on Moscow in two years, Russian media says

By Jessie Yeung, Isaac Yee, Kosta Gak, CNN

(CNN) — Ukraine launched its largest drone offensive on Moscow in two years on Thursday, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS, in an attack that damaged infrastructure, caused fires, and sent debris raining down in areas across the capital region.

Air defenses shot down 194 drones bound for the Russian capital in just eight hours, with attacks still ongoing Thursday morning, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. That’s far higher than other days of heavy attacks in recent months, when drones only numbered in the double digits.

Flights at all major Moscow airports were temporarily suspended on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing the Russian aviation agency.

The barrage was part of a larger overnight attack over a broad swath of Russia, with air defenses intercepting 555 Ukrainian drones, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense – including over the Sea of Azov.

Kyiv has been stepping up its targeting of Russian energy infrastructure in long-range attacks in recent weeks, and the overnight offensive came while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Brussels for meetings with NATO’s leader and defense ministers from Britain and Germany.

Several drones on Thursday hit the Moscow Oil Refinery in the southeastern district of Kapotnya, said Sobyanin on Telegram, according to Reuters – the second time it has come under attack this week alone, after being struck earlier on Tuesday.

“Air defense forces continue to repel a massive attack,” Sobyanin added.

Video geolocated by CNN showed the moment of an explosion at the oil refinery. In the video, thick black smoke can be seen billowing from a section of the facility before a large explosion rocks another part of complex, blowing the roof of a large fuel tank container into the air.

An apartment building in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, was also hit by a drone, according to TASS, citing Moscow regional Gov. Andrey Vorobyov.

The strike damaged the building and some balconies, but there were no casualties, he said. Drone debris also fell in several other locations outside the capital, damaging a fitness center, an industrial facility, a shopping center (where a fire began), and a private home, he said.

Further south in Russia’s Rostov region, a separate drone attack on Thursday killed one civilian and injured two others, as well as damaging a locomotive and causing fires at two commercial facilities, said regional governor Yury Slyusar, according to TASS.

Thursday’s Moscow strike comes after a drone strike “damaged a facility on the grounds” of the same refinery on Tuesday, Sobyanin said at the time.

After Tuesday’s strike, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s military had used long-range weapons to hit facilities “500 kilometers away,” framing Kyiv’s intensified attacks deep into Russian territory as a key strategy in forcing Moscow to end its war.

Russia fired back at Ukraine overnight into Thursday with seven missiles and 239 drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Numerous locations were struck – including a private home, an energy infrastructure facility, a hangar and more, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The attack also hit oil facilities in both the Kyiv and Poltava regions, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.

Ukraine has launched extensive drone attacks against Russian refineries and military facilities in recent months, with targets including naval facilities, oil depots and terminals. Some attacks took place in the Leningrad region, where St. Petersburg recently hosted a global economic forum often dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s version of Davos.

Russia’s state budget relies on oil earnings for at least one-third of its revenue, according to analysts. Since the Ukraine war began, the pool of buyers for Russian oil has shrunk, thanks to stricter sanctions from the European Union and Washington – though the Iran war proved to be a windfall, with Moscow benefiting from surging global fuel prices and eased sanctions.

Still, Ukraine’s nearly-daily attacks on oil infrastructure have taken a toll. Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, faced oil shortages and gasoline rationing earlier this month after Ukrainian attacks constricted road supplies ⁠across the region, Reuters reported.

NATO gathering

Thursday’s attack also comes as the world leaders gather at the G7 summit in France, where Zelensky spoke to Trump on Tuesday. After his first batch of meetings, Zelensky said “everyone” had agreed to help Ukraine secure more air defense capabilities – and that Trump had received his suggestions positively.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump encouraged Russia to agree to a deal that would end the war, now in its fifth year. “Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people, and so had Ukraine,” he said.

On Thursday at a gathering of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he and Zelensky had discussed the war during a meeting a day earlier.

“Ukraine is doing really well,” Rutte said, citing Russian losses at 30-35,000 a month. He added that discussions are still ongoing “with all allies to make sure Ukraine has what it needs,” including missile interceptors and weapons systems.

“We need to keep Ukraine strong,” he said, crediting Trump for providing critical equipment and breaking a deadlock with Putin last year.

The NATO meeting comes at a pivotal time for Europe, which has been rattled by statements from Trump administration officials about plans to draw down the amount of US forces and hardware stationed in Europe.

Last week the New York Times reported that the US plans to significantly reduce the aircraft and warships that it makes available for NATO operations in Europe, citing European sources.

As a member of the group, the US is part of a cooperative framework called the “NATO Force Model,” in which participating countries provide their support and resources to joint defense, security and crisis response.

Rutte confirmed the drawdown but played down its impact.

“Europeans are already backfilling a lot of those resources. We are in a good place,” he said, adding that were NATO to come under attack its member states, including the US, would ramp up its military presence wherever needed.

Speaking next to Rutte on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO is now more capable of tackling the conventional defense of Europe, with many countries stepping up their commitments – though others need to do more, he said.

“I think that’s important, friends being honest with friends, making sure that they can step up,” he added.

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