Tank lid blown in the air, black smoke billows into the sky…, Ukraine attack on Moscow refinery

On Thursday (16 June 2026) amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Russia. The biggest impact of this attack was seen on an oil refinery in Moscow, where there were massive explosions and a massive fire. Volodymyr Zelensky also shared the video of this attack, in which thick black smoke is clearly visible coming out of the refinery. The video has been recorded from a moving vehicle.

In this, a huge plume of black smoke is seen rising in the sky. After some time, a big explosion is seen in the video recorded from height. As soon as the attack took place, the upper part of the oil storage tank flew into the air with a loud bang. After this the smoke and debris spread rapidly everywhere.

In other parts of the video, large flames are seen in several parts of the refinery. Black smoke continued to rise over the entire facility. It is being told that earlier this week a fuel plant in Moscow was also targeted. Russian officials said it was one of the largest drone attacks on Moscow in recent years. Sergei Sobyanin said that Russia’s air defense system shot down a large number of drones, but some drones were successful in reaching Moscow’s oil refinery.

Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a fully justified response to… pic.twitter.com/NhFl4FlT9L

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 18, 2026

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More than 500 Ukrainian drones were stopped

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than 500 Ukrainian drones were intercepted across the country overnight. Of these, about 200 drones were moving in the direction of Moscow. Due to security reasons, flights were also stopped for some time at Moscow airport. There is also news of damage to some residential and commercial buildings in Moscow due to the debris of the dropped drone. Ukraine has described this attack as a response to Russia’s action. President Zelensky said that this attack is a direct response to Russia’s continuous attacks on the cities and people of Ukraine. He said that it was necessary to target places that could strengthen Russia’s combat capability.

Who carried out the operation?

Zelensky also said that the security and defense agencies of Ukraine jointly carried out this operation. Apart from Moscow, attacks were also carried out in Rostov region and those parts of Ukraine which are currently under Russian occupation. He said that in recent times, the accuracy and impact of Ukraine’s mid-range and long-range attacks has also been noticed by its allies.

Zelensky said that now the time has come for the war to end and Russia to move forward on the path of dialogue. This attack happened at a time when Russia is continuously carrying out air strikes on Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said that missile and drone attacks took place overnight, in which many areas including Kiev were targeted. Air raid alert was issued in many areas.

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