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Ukraine launched a wave of drone attacks across Moscow early on Thursday morning, local Russian authorities said.
In a series of posts on Telegram, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin said air defences had intercepted 180 UAVS approaching the capital but that “several” had managed to strike a refinery in what he called a “massive” attack. It is the second time the refinery has been hit this week.
Video footage circulating on social media appears to show an enormous explosion and major fire at the scene. Emergency services are attending attack sites around the city, per Sobyanin.
Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said a fire caused by drone debris also broke out at a shopping centre in the southeast of Moscow and that another drone struck an apartment building in Zhukovsky, damaging part of a fire escape.
Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian energy facilities in recent months in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described as a “just” campaign of “long-range sanctions” against Moscow.
Ukrainian forces have particularly targeted Russian oil facilities, including refineries, terminals and depots. Last week, Zelenskyy announced that his forces had struck the Kuibyshev refinery in Russia’s Samara region, as well as two oil infrastructure facilities in the Vladimir region.
Zelenskyy said Russia launched 1,920 attack drones, 1,790 guided aerial bombs, and 17 missiles against Ukraine last week.
It comes as the Ukrainian leader arrived in Brussels on Wednesday, where he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
He said the pair discussed the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a procurement mechanism for Ukraine, as well as his talks with G7 leaders earlier in the week.
Zelenskyy had met with his G7 counterparts in France as he renewed his pleas for more air defense missiles and increased pressure on Moscow.
Zelenskyy said after the meeting that they had agreed on the “additional strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense” and new measures against Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting leaders from across Southeast Asia this week at the ASEAN-Russia summit in Kazan.
Leaders from 11 countries including Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore will be attending the meeting, where they are expected to discuss strategic partnerships and potential new areas of political, economic and humanitarian cooperation.