In what officials and analysts described as an unprecedented aerial campaign, Ukraine sent a record number of drones toward Moscow, setting fire to a major oil refinery and shutting down every one of the capital's airports, according to The New York Times.
According to CNN, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of Moscow reported that Russian air defenses brought down no fewer than 194 incoming Ukrainian drones before they could reach the city. The strike on Moscow formed one piece of a sweeping assault extending across Russian territory; the country's Defense Ministry said its forces stopped a combined 555 drones, among them those flying over the Sea of Azov, according to CNN.
One prominent target was the Moscow Oil Refinery, located in the Kapotnya district on the city's southeastern edge approximately 15 kilometers from the Kremlin; the facility had already sustained damage in an earlier Ukrainian strike on Tuesday, according to CNN. Footage verified by CNN captured dense black smoke pouring from the site as well as a blast that tore the roof from a storage tank. The refinery supplies approximately 40% of Moscow's gasoline needs, according to The Times.
At least 16 people were injured across the Moscow region, according to The Times. Beyond the refinery, a drone hit a high-rise apartment complex in Zhukovsky, Moscow's largest open-air market sustained damage, and a major shopping mall was shuttered following a separate strike, according to The Times.
Writing on Telegram while in Brussels for a gathering of NATO defense ministers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the strikes as "a fully justified response to Russian strikes on our cities and communities," according to CNN.
Ukraine also absorbed retaliatory Russian strikes, with Kyiv's air force tallying seven missiles and 239 drones fired overnight, according to CNN. Damage from those strikes was reported at a residential property, an energy facility, a storage hangar, and petroleum infrastructure spread across the Kyiv and Poltava regions, according to CNN.
The drone campaign fits into a pattern of Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russian oil and energy assets that has accelerated over recent months, according to The Times.
Update, June 19, 2026: Video evidence suggests the explosion at Moscow's Kapotnya oil refinery may have been caused by a Russian air defense missile rather than a direct drone strike. Russian authorities also reported that air defenses shot down 992 Ukrainian drones across the country on Thursday, a figure not previously reported in the article.