Ukraine launches largest attack on Moscow since Russia's invasion began

MEKONG, June 18 Moscow has suffered its largest attack by Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with nearly 200 drones hitting targets around the capital, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky. Seventeen people were injured in the Moscow region, according to regional governor Andrei Vorobyov. Russia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed nearly 1,000 Ukrainian drones and four cruise missiles across the country in 24 hours. A Russian oil depot in the southern Rostov region was also attacked, killing one person. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had carried out further long-range attacks on the Moscow region. “It is time for this war to end. Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy,” he added. He said the large-scale drone attack was retaliation for Russia’s strike last week that set fire to a prominent religious shrine in Kyiv. “We don’t want this war, and we never wanted it. But if Ukraine burns, then your Moscow will burn too,” Zelensky said. Fires broke out at the Kapotnya oil refinery in south-eastern Moscow, the third time it has been attacked this month and the second time this week, filling the sky with smoke. Numerous video recordings showed the lids of large oil storage tanks being blown hundreds of metres into the air by the force of the powerful explosions. Debris from drones also fell on a nearby shopping centre, causing a fire, and residents were evacuated from some residential high-rise buildings. Four major Moscow airports were temporarily closed, and more than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed. Although regional authorities across Russia have banned the dissemination of footage and photos of the aftermath of the drone attacks, numerous video recordings have spread on social media showing drones flying in broad daylight and explosions occurring over industrial zones on the outskirts of Moscow. Four and a half years have passed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the war of attrition on Ukraine’s front lines continues to rage, largely out of sight of the majority of ordinary Russian citizens. Kyiv’s long-range strikes on targets across Russia, including Moscow and St Petersburg, demonstrate Zelensky’s ambition to “bring the war to the doorstep” of the Russian people. The drone attacks on Moscow, about 500km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, have become more frequent as the Kyiv government’s long-range strike capabilities have improved. Ukraine’s first successful drone attacks reached the Russian capital in the spring of 2023, but these were sporadic and involved only a handful of drones. Since then, large-scale air defence systems have been deployed around Moscow, but the number of drones used by Ukraine in its attacks has also increased exponentially, with some drones managing to penetrate these air defence systems. At the same time, the Kyiv government said Russia had also launched more than 200 drones and a number of ballistic missiles into Ukraine overnight. Vladimir Putin, who is hosting a summit with Southeast Asian leaders in the central Russian city of Kazan, has not yet commented on the major attack on the Russian capital. “One of the most frequently asked questions by Moscow residents this morning is: what is happening? I can answer: your country started an aggressive war against our country. For many years, you have been killing our people,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on the social network X. “Now that you know what is happening, ask Putin when he plans to end the war,” he added. Ref:BBC #MeKongNews #RussianInvasion #Moscow #Ukraine #Attack