Thursday, June 18, 2026 - Ukraine has launched its largest drone offensive on Moscow in two years, 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 more than four dozen drones bound for the Russian
capital overnight into Thursday, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
While a massive assault for the capital, the barrage was part of a larger
Ukrainian operation targeting a broad swath of Russia, with air defenses active
across multiple regions.
Flights at all major Moscow airports were temporarily suspended on
Thursday, Reuters reported, citing the Russian aviation agency.
Kyiv has been stepping up its targeting of Russian energy infrastructure
in long-range attacks in recent weeks, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky has framed as a key strategy in forcing Moscow to end the war.
Zelensky called Thursday’s attacks “a fully justified response to Russian
strikes on our cities and communities,” in a Telegram post from Brussels, where
he arrived for meetings with NATO leaders.
“In recent days, all our partners have noted the precision and
effectiveness of our mid-range strikes and long-range sanctions,” he said.
Among Ukraine’s targets was the Moscow Oil Refinery in the southeastern
district of Kapotnya, which was also struck and damaged by Ukraine earlier in
the week.
Video geolocated by CNN showed thick black smoke billowing from a section
of the oil refinery before a large explosion rocks another part of the complex.
Another video showed a large black plume of smoke rising near Moscow’s Sadovod
trade center.
An apartment building in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, was also damaged by
falling debris, while a shopping center was impacted in the capital, according
to TASS and local authorities.
Russia fired back at Ukraine with a major overnight barrage of its own, utilizing both missiles and drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The strikes targeted several regions across Ukraine, hitting infrastructure that ensures normal life, including energy and gas facilities far from the front lines.
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.
Thursday’s attack came soon after world leaders gathered at the G7 summit
in France, where Zelensky said “everyone” had agreed to help Ukraine secure
more air defense capabilities—and that US President Donald Trump had received
his suggestions positively.
Earlier in the week, 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 heavy monthly Russian
losses. He added that discussions are still ongoing “with all allies to make
sure Ukraine has what it needs,” including missile interceptors and weapons
systems.
The NATO meeting comes at a pivotal time for Europe, which has been
reacting to shifting diplomatic dynamics and discussions regarding the future
allocation of US hardware and forces stationed in Europe.
As a member of the alliance, 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 played down the impact of potential shifts in US resources.
“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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