Thick plumes of smoke with flames rise from an oil refinery following what the authorities say is a Ukrainian drone strike in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia, on June 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Ukraine hit a Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week and disrupted commercial flights at Moscow airports in one of its biggest drone attacks since Russia’s invasion more than four years ago, Russian officials said on Thursday (June 18, 2026).
The Russian Defence Ministry said that its air defences overnight shot down 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions, with almost 200 intercepted as they were approaching the Russian capital.
Several drones hit the Moscow Oil Refinery on the southeastern outskirts of the city, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The Russian Transport Ministry said that flights from four Moscow airports were halted.
The attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had held “an important coordination call” with U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron that may “bring about significant change.” Mr. Zelenskyy said on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) his country had won key pledges of further support from world leaders attending the G7 summit in France.
“These last few days were very important for Ukraine because it is the reunification of the G7 around Ukraine,” Mr. Macron told reporters as he and Mr. Trump left the Palace of Versailles near Paris.
“And now we will continue to advance to help Ukraine to resist and to build up its capacity to defend itself and capacity to counterattack,” Mr. Macron said.
The attack comes as President Vladimir Putin is in Kazan, 700 kilometres (430 miles) east of Moscow, hosting leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as Russia seeks to bolster business and other ties.
The two-day meeting is set to consider ways to expand Russia’s “strategic partnership” with ASEAN nations that include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam, according to Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Published – June 18, 2026 02:23 pm IST
