Overview
- Ukraine launched a large drone barrage that struck the Kapotnya oil refinery in Moscow, igniting fires and sending thick black smoke across the city in what multiple outlets described as the biggest attack on the capital in years on June 18.
- Russian officials said air defences intercepted hundreds of drones nationwide and shot down roughly 180–194 near Moscow, but acknowledged several drones penetrated defences and caused damage to the refinery, a shopping centre and residential buildings.
- The strikes forced temporary closures and evacuations at Moscow’s main airports, disrupted road traffic near the refinery and left dozens of people treated for injuries, while regional authorities reported at least one death in the Rostov region.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the raids as 'long‑range sanctions' intended to hit facilities that sustain Russia’s war effort and to push Moscow toward diplomacy, and he said the strikes were a justified response to Russian attacks on Ukraine.
- Russia replied with renewed missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian territory, and analysts warn the exchange could deepen the cross‑border drone war, strain air‑defence systems on both sides and widen civilian disruption far from front lines.