‘Oil rain’ after drone attack in Russia as Zelensky threatens: ‘Moscow will burn’

Russia on Thursday threatened retaliation against Ukraine following a massive drone attack launched earlier in the day toward Moscow and other Russian cities, an operation that damaged energy infrastructure, triggered panic near the capital and left 16 people wounded.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would carry out new large-scale strikes against Ukraine. “Our armed forces are working on it, and will continue to do so,” he announced.

According to Russia, the morning attack was the largest Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow in two years. It also hit, for the second time this week, an oil facility belonging to Gazprom in the outskirts of the capital. Images and videos from the scene showed fire burning at the facility and thick smoke rising from it.

Residents reported debris falling around the capital, including on residential buildings, and Russian authorities were forced to suspend operations at all four major Moscow airports, including Sheremetyevo.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, air defense forces intercepted a total of 555 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions of the country, with nearly 200 shot down while en route to Moscow. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed that, despite this, several drones managed to strike the oil facility in the capital’s southeastern suburbs.

In one video from the capital, a thick black plume was seen rising from part of the Gazprom refinery, followed by a large explosion in another section of the complex, sending the top of a large fuel tank flying into the air. Videos showing the lid of the tank being lifted were circulated worldwide.

Other footage showed towering smoke clouds over multiple points in Moscow’s skyline, including near the Sadovod commercial center, which describes itself as Russia’s largest shopping complex. Drones were seen flying overhead, audible to residents, before striking their targets. Passersby were filmed screaming in panic after explosions.

Following the damage to oil infrastructure, toxic smoke clouds covered parts of the Moscow region, and residents reported “oil rain” falling in the city. However, authorities said no abnormal levels of air pollution were detected.

Zelensky warned that Moscow would “go up in flames” if the attacks continued: “We do not want this war and never have, but if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on X after the attack: “Russia is on its back foot: militarily, economically and politically. Now is the time to provide Ukraine with even greater support and apply even greater pressure on Russia to end the war.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote: “One of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is “What is going on?” I can answer. Your country started a war of aggression against ours. For years, it has been killing our people. Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it.”

Nearly four and a half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has recently intensified its attacks on energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory. Zelensky has consistently presented this as a key element of his strategy aimed at forcing Moscow to end the war.

Earlier today, shortly after reports emerged of damage to the oil facility, Zelensky confirmed Ukraine was responsible for the explosions, calling them a “fair response” to Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukrainian cities.

He stressed that the facility “supports the Russian war machine,” and said Ukrainian forces also struck targets in Russia’s Rostov region as well as in territories occupied by Russia in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky made the remarks in a Telegram post from Brussels, where he arrived to attend the NATO summit, in which he hopes to persuade alliance leaders to further increase military aid to Ukraine. NATO and Western officials have recently expressed satisfaction with Ukraine’s battlefield performance, portraying Vladimir Putin’s army as increasingly stalled.

The strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure are causing undeniable damage. Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer and a major exporter of oil and fuel, yet it is now expected to import fuel by sea this month to cope with shortages caused by Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries, according to industry sources.

The refinery struck earlier today is one of the largest in Russia and produces more than a third of the fuel supplied to the Moscow region.

In another sign of deterioration in the Russian fuel market, the Federal Antimonopoly Service demanded explanations from a major Moscow fuel retailer, Neftmagistral, after it raised the price of Octane 95 fuel by 19% over the past week. The increase followed Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries. The price of a liter of Octane 95 at the company’s stations stood at about 95 rubles ($1.30), compared to about 80 rubles on June 15.

The attack on Russia this morning took place while President Vladimir Putin was in Kazan, about 700 kilometers east of Moscow, where he is hosting a summit of Southeast Asian nations, which Moscow hopes will help strengthen economic ties with them.

Just two weeks ago, Ukraine had already managed to send drones as far as the St. Petersburg area while Putin was hosting an international economic forum there, an event seen as his answer to the prestigious Davos forum. That strike embarrassed his administration.

Additional reporting contributed by Alex Nirenburg