Moscow was shrouded in noxious black smoke today after Ukraine’s biggest attack on the Russian capital during the war so far. Russian air defences appear to have failed to protect the city from swarms of drones, with locals saying they have never seen anything like it.
Unprecedented Assault
‘No one has ever bombed Moscow like this before,’ Exilenova+ reported. The Moscow Oil Refinery at Kapotnya – one of the largest in Russia and partially damaged in an earlier attack this week – was repeatedly hit by explosions, with smoke turning the sky a dark black.
‘This is pure hell, I have never felt such terror,’ one resident said. Another demanded: ‘Why will this madman not stop his crazy and pointless war and end the death and destruction?’
Security Lockdown
A massive security operation was launched around the Kremlin, with Red Square sealed off and machine-gunners stationed on the towers and Lenin’s Mausoleum. Electronic warfare and air defence missiles shot down multiple incoming drones, redirecting several to hit residential buildings, shattering glass and igniting fires.
Moscow residents were forced to cower in underground car parks amid the Ukrainian onslaught. One of Moscow’s largest shopping centres was burning after a hit, and the city’s main airports suspended all flights while blocking traffic on the main ring road.
Defence Claims
Russian air defences claimed to have shot down 555 Ukrainian drones overnight — but enough An-196 Liutyi and FP-1 unmanned planes reached targets to inflict mayhem on the Russian capital. Moscow’s main oil refinery supplies 40% of the fuel market in Moscow and 70% of the surrounding region’s needs for gasoline and aviation fuel.
An oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region was also set ablaze in a strike that killed one person.
War Dynamics Shift
Today’s onslaught reinforced how Ukraine has turned around the war, inflicting a succession of major setbacks on Putin, who is also failing to gain significant frontline territory while losing ground in several sectors. Volodymyr Zelensky has said the war could stop if Putin engages in genuine peace talks, but the Russian dictator repeatedly refuses to do so.
In revenge attacks, Russia hit Ukrainian oil facilities in the Poltava region and close to Kyiv. Russia was spotted moving Tu-95MS strategic bombers across the country, suggesting a major strike on Ukraine is likely in the coming days.
