Four and a half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war of attrition on the front line in Ukraine grinds on, out of sight for many in Russia. Kyiv’s long-range strikes on targets across Russia as well as Moscow and St Petersburg are an indication of Zelensky’s aim of “bringing the war home” to ordinary Russians.
A man who lives near the refinery that was hit told the BBC he was woken up when his building started “shaking” at dawn and that in the morning he smelled burning and could not breathe.
“It’s all very frightening,” he said. “Before, I wasn’t so scared, but now it is almost a panic.”
Drone attacks on Moscow – about 500km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border – have become more frequent as Kyiv has developed its long-range capabilities. Ukraine’s first successful drone strikes reached the Russian capital in spring 2023, although they were sporadic and rarely involved more than a handful of drones.
Since then, extensive air defences have been set up around Moscow – but the number of drones used by Ukraine in its attacks has also multiplied and some have penetrated those defences.
No air defence system can ensure total protection against massive attacks of high-tech drones. The hit rate of those that do get through is extremely low and fraught with the risk of anti-missile debris crashing to the ground.
But despite the known difficulties in halting such large-scale attacks, Thursday’s drone barrage is bound to raise questions about the effectiveness of air defence systems surrounding key infrastructure in Moscow.
For its part, Russia launched more than 200 drones and multiple ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv said.
Vladimir Putin, who is hosting southeast Asian leaders for a summit in the central city of Kazan, has not commented on the large-scale attack on the Russian capital.
Writing on X, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said: “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,” Sybiha wrote.
“Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it.”
Additional reporting by Ilya Abishev, BBC Russian and BBC Verify’s Richard Irvine-Brown and Paul Brown
Correction 19 June 2026: This article has been updated to amend the original subheading of the story to reflect the fact that nearly 200 drones were launched towards Moscow, and not that they had struck the south-east of Moscow.
