Ukraine launched a major drone assault on Moscow, Russia, causing multiple fires including at an oil refinery, and forcing evacuation of the country's busiest airport. Meanwhile, Russia reported intercepting over 500 drones.
The Ukrainian military initiated its largest drone attack in years targeting Moscow, the Russian capital, on 18 Jun 2024 GMT+7. The strikes caused severe fires at multiple sites and heavily disrupted transport infrastructure, occurring just hours before President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to open the ASEAN summit in Kazan.
Moscow Governor Sergei Sobyanin stated via the Telegram app that air defense forces intercepted up to 180 drones heading toward the capital, while Russia's Ministry of Defense said over 500 Ukrainian drones were intercepted nationwide overnight. Nonetheless, some drones breached defenses, striking the "Moscow oil refinery," sparking fires and prompting immediate road closures. Additionally, drones crashed into apartments in the Sukhovsky district and commercial buildings on the outskirts, causing fires.
This attack forced Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow's busiest, to urgently evacuate passengers to safe areas and temporarily suspend all flights. This represents the most severe assault on Russia's capital in at least two years.
The intense assault occurred as President Putin prepared to welcome leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kazan, about 700 kilometers east of Moscow. Attending leaders included prime ministers from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Despite Russia's economy facing high inflation, labor shortages, and rising borrowing costs amid the protracted four-year conflict, Putin rejected proposals for face-to-face negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He reaffirmed Russia's commitment to militarily secure Ukraine's eastern Donbas region amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently urged Russia at the G7 summit in France to "agree to a deal" to end the war.
On the same day, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of deliberately sending drones to attack a bus in the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine. The bus was carrying 28 Belarusian youth football players among 44 passengers en route to southern Russia for a vacation.
Russia's Foreign Ministry described the incident as a "brutal crime," resulting in the death of a female caretaker and injuries to eight others, including six children. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered urgent flights to evacuate the injured Belarusians and demanded an explanation from Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian military issued a statement denying these allegations entirely, labeling them "fake news," and confirmed its forces had not used drones to target civilians in the area. Ukraine stated it targets only Russia's economic and energy infrastructure to cut off war supplies. This conflict is Europe's bloodiest battlefield since World War II, having claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.