Large Ukraine drone attack on Moscow ‘coercion’ for Russia to end war, Zelenskyy says
Dozens of Ukrainian long-range drones attacked Moscow overnight into Tuesday morning, according to the city’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin; Damage was confirmed at a major oil refinery, and flight restrictions disrupted flights at the city’s four international airports.
“Over the last 24 hours, the attack on Moscow by enemy drones continued. One of the drones damaged a facility on the territory of the Moscow Refinery. There was no loss of life. Emergency services are working at the scene,” Sobyanin wrote in a post on Telegram.
In the alleged videos of Gazprom’s refinery in Moscow, it is seen that a fire broke out and a large cloud of black smoke rises over the facility located in the Kapotnya District in the southeast of the city.
Ukrainian forces have been expanding drone attacks on Moscow in recent months. long range attack campaign Sanctions against Russia that officials in Kiev call “long-term sanctions.”
Pavel Bednyakov/AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov – PHOTO: People walk with umbrellas in Red Square as it rains in Moscow, Russia, on June 15, 2026.
Data shows Ukraine has increased drone attacks in Moscow and across Russia to record levels
Tuesday marked the ninth consecutive day Ukraine’s drone attack on MoscowAccording to the statements published by Sobyanin on Telegram. The number of drones Sobyanin reported shooting down on Tuesday was also the largest number of drones seen since May 17.
This year, Sobyanin reported that more Ukrainian drones were shot down (1,134 vehicles) than in all of 2025, when the mayor said Russian forces intercepted 734 Ukrainian drones heading for the capital.
The last Ukrainian strike took place a day after the attack. Major Russian attack on KievThe incident, which resulted in the deaths of at least five people, damaged a historic cathedral and led Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to brand Russian President Vladimir Putin a “barbarian”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared an alleged video of the burning Moscow refinery on Telegram on Tuesday morning, attributing the damage to “long-range strikes by Ukraine.”
March data shows Ukraine surpasses Russia in cross-border drone warfare for the first time
“Russia must be forced to end the war against our people. And Ukraine’s long-range weapons are one of the important components of such pressure,” Zelenskyy said. he wrote.
“This is a fair response to Russia’s attacks and a response to the prolongation of the war that should end,” Zelenskyy said.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating within the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that the Moscow refinery is one of the largest refineries in the country with a capacity to process approximately 11 million tons of oil per year. He said the facility meets about 40% of Moscow’s gasoline needs.
Kovalenko said, “Although Putin has deployed almost all of the important air defense and missile defense systems in Moscow, this does not save the Russians. Putin is not a guarantee of security for Muscovites.” he wrote.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: Soldiers of the 9th Kairos Battalion of “Madyar’s Birds” prepare to launch Ukrainian long-range unmanned aerial vehicles from an undisclosed location in Ukraine, May 16, 2026.
As the Putin economic forum opens, Ukrainian drones arrive in St. hit St. Petersburg
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack on Moscow was one element of a larger wave of night attacks. The ministry claimed that Russian forces had shot down at least 172 Ukrainian drones by Tuesday morning.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced flight restrictions at more than a dozen airports in southern and western Russia, including Moscow’s four international airports (Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo).
Elsewhere, flight restrictions have affected airports from Sochi on the Black Sea coast to Nizhnekamsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, about 750 miles from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia continued its own long-range strikes throughout the night. The air force said in a statement to Telegram that Russia launched 132 unmanned aerial vehicles and two missiles into the country in its latest bombardment, and 114 of them were intercepted or suppressed.
The air force said both missiles and 16 drones hit nine sites.
