In Moscow, a series of drone attacks have been reported, with videos circulating on social media showing explosions in the Moscow region. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has not commented on the impact of these attacks but has mentioned that emergency services are responding at the sites where debris has fallen.
Monitoring channels on Telegram have shared footage of the drone flights and subsequent explosions. Reports indicate that in light of these attacks, Russian authorities have strengthened air defense systems near the Moscow Oil Refinery and the Sadovod shopping center, both of which have previously sustained damage from similar strikes.
Context
- On the night of June 18, Moscow experienced its most extensive drone attack since the beginning of the conflict. Robert Brovda, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, stated that Ukrainian defenses targeted the Moscow refinery for the third time in a month, with significant impacts reported.
- The refinery is located approximately 15 kilometers from the Kremlin. The channel “VCHK-OGPU” reported that as a precaution, Red Square was closed, and gunmen were positioned on the Kremlin towers during the attack.
- The assaults caused what has been termed an “oil rain” in the Moscow region.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the strike on the Moscow refinery on June 18 was a justified response to Russian attacks on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
- Fedir Venislavskiy, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from the Servant of the People party, stated that Ukrainian security forces have identified vulnerabilities in Russian air defenses, indicating that attacks on Moscow and the surrounding area may continue.
