On Thursday, Moscow woke up to Ukrainian drone attacks, some of which struck the Kapotnya industrial zone, which houses a refinery complex and oil storage facilities.
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At least 200 out of 555 drones downed across Russia were aimed at the capital, home to 13 million people, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed.
Columns of black smoke covered southeastern Moscow, where one of the downed drones fell onto the roof of a shopping center adjacent to the Kapotnya zone, where a refinery had already been hit on Tuesday.
In the Moscow region, Ukrainian attacks left 17 people injured, including two children aged 3 and 10. Ukrainian drones also left one dead in Rostov and another in Belgorod.
During the night, Russian authorities issued missile threat alerts in several regions of the country, including the Novgorod region, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Many airports in western Russia were forced to close their airspace. In the Moscow region, around 500 flights were canceled.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense batteries intercepted 992 drones in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky boasted about the attack on Russia.
“Of course, we do not want Ukraine to burn because of the enemy, but if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn,” he said in a voice message sent to journalists.
For months, Ukrainian attacks have focused on Russia’s transport network and oil infrastructure. This has led to fuel shortages in up to 53 Russian regions. The refinery struck in Kapotnya, owned by the Gazprom consortium, processes around 40% of the fuel consumed by Moscow and its region.
Source: teleSUR English
