Russia vows escalation after Ukraine hits Moscow with drone attack

Russia has vowed to launch frequent and “large group attacks” on Ukraine shortly after Kiev launched a drone barrage on Moscow, triggering a massive explosion at one of the Russian capital’s major oil refineries.

Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale attack on Moscow on Wednesday evening and Thursday, mainly targeting a major oil refinery on the city’s southeastern outskirts.

Nearly 200 drones were used reportedly It was used in the attack, making it Ukraine’s largest-ever airstrike on the Russian capital. Authorities in question While 16 people were injured, flights were temporarily stopped at four Moscow airports.

Columns of black smoke were seen rising from Gazprom’s Moscow Refinery, which has been targeted many times by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks, on Thursday.

“It is no coincidence that the President announced some time ago, after another terrorist attack in Kiev, that we will now regularly carry out large group attacks against targets whose situation directly affects the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Kazan on Thursday. he said. Interfax.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure, trying to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues and force President Vladimir Putin to end the four-year war.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the attacks on Moscow were a response to Russia’s attacks. historical monastery complex He was in Kiev at the beginning of the week. There is Russia in question It did not hit the Pechersk Lavra monastery.

“This is a completely justified response to Russia’s attacks on our cities and communities and is another important result of our fighters’ work against the facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine,” Zelenskyy said. he said. in question in a social media post on Thursday.

“In recent days, all our partners have realized the precision and effectiveness of our medium-range strikes and long-term sanctions. It is time for the war to end, and Russia needs to take the necessary steps in diplomacy.”

Russian “milbloggers”, who closely followed and commented on the war on social media, responded to the attacks on Moscow by expressing concerns about Russia’s air defense and censorship. based on to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a think tank based in Washington, DC.

ISW operates in Ukraine, especially in Moscow and St. He added that the increasing frequency, size and depth of the long-range strike campaign against heavily defended major Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, “illustrate the increasing weaknesses in Russian air defenses and the dilemmas of how the Kremlin chooses to interact with the domestic costs of the war it has initiated.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Ukrainian Zelenskyy is trying to rally support from both the United States and Europe to reach an agreement to end the war.

Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump vowed to provide more aid to Ukraine and called on the Kremlin to “make a deal” to end the Ukrainian war. “I’ll do the best I can,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.

The US president added that he had met with Zelenskyy and Putin in recent days and said both countries had “lost a tremendous amount of people.”