Ukraine sets Moscow refinery ablaze in biggest attack in years

Ukraine on Thursday launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in years, sparking fires, hitting a major oil refinery and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport. Russia vowed to retaliate for the attack as AFP reporters saw dramatic scenes of black smoke billowing over the capital’s southern skyline and drops of black rain mixed with soot falling from the sky. At least 17 people were wounded in the strikes, which also set a shopping centre and apartment building ablaze, authorities said. The attack came as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Southeast Asian leaders at a summit in the central city of Kazan, about 700 kilometres east of Moscow. An explosion takes place at the Moscow oil refinery after Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, Russia on June 18, 2026. — Reuters The Russian leader had yet to comment on the strikes, despite issuing press statements throughout the day, though his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov vowed Moscow would retaliate with its own “massive” strikes on Ukraine. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was an “absolutely justified response” to deadly strikes on Kyiv — including one earlier this week on a landmark cathedral and a Unesco-protected 11th-century monastery. He said he wanted Russians to put pressure on Putin for the consequences of Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. “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, including AFP. “If Ukraine is going to burn, your Moscow will burn too.” Moscow has hit Ukraine with daily barrages of missiles and drones. Airport closures It was the second time this month that Kyiv launched a major attack during an international summit, after striking Saint Petersburg at the start of a landmark economic forum near the city. Moscow’s airports were shut for hours, leading to hundreds of flight delays. The country’s busiest — Sheremetyev