Moscow slammed by drones 2nd time in week as Ukraine hits back at Russia

Editor's Note: This is a developing story.

The Russian capital woke up to a massive drone attack the morning of June 18, as explosions rang out across the city and smoke filled the sky over Moscow.

Dozens of drones targeted the city, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and multiple monitoring channels. The attack reportedly struck the Moscow Oil Refinery for the second time in three days, causing a major fire at the facility.

Sobyanin reported in the early hours of June 18 that Russian air defense units had destroyed 33 drones bound for Moscow. He also reported "minor damage" to a building in the Sadovod shopping center in the southeastern part of the city.

According to Sobyanin, there are no casualties, and emergency crews are working at all crash sites.

Temporary flight restrictions have also been imposed at Moscow's Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports.

Photos and videos posted by residents to social media depicted fires and explosions in multiple locations across the city. The Telegram monitoring channel Exilenova-Plus published footage from local residents showing the top floors of a high-rise building in flames as well as a fire near the refinery.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports at the time of publication.

The strike comes two days after Ukraine hit the Moscow Oil Refinery with long-range drones on June 16, in an operation President Volodymyr Zelensky called "a just response to Russian strikes."

A separate drone attack was reported in Russia's Rostov Oblast, in the town of Gukovo.

Residents reported a massive fire in the area following a Ukrainian drone strike, according to images and footage circulated on social media. The monitoring channel Exilenova-Plus reported that an oil depot in Gukovo was hit.

Rostov Oblast Governor Yury Slyusar claimed the drone strike killed one person and injured two others, who were hospitalized.

Slyusar also reported damage to a locomotive and fires at "two commercial facilities." He did not mention on oil depot or specify which facilities came under attack.

Gukovo lies near the Ukrainian border, only a few kilometers from occupied Luhansk Oblast.

Located near the Azov Sea and bordering Ukraine, Rostov Oblast plays a crucial logistical role for Russia's war effort due to its proximity to front-line operations. Oil depots, refineries, and other infrastructure in the region have repeatedly been targeted by Ukrainian strikes.

Ukraine's June 16 strike on the Moscow Oil Refinery reportedly shut down operations at the site, according to Russian industry sources cited by Reuters. A previous Ukrainian attack on the refinery on May 17 also halted production at the facility.

Ukraine has intensified its long-range strike campaign against military, industrial, and energy targets inside Russia in recent months, with drones repeatedly reaching Moscow and other regions hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

In response, Russia has bolstered air defenses in the capital, deploying new Pantsir-SMD-E air defense systems on the rooftops of civilian buildings in Moscow.

These measures have not stopped Ukrainian drones from striking the city twice in the past week.