Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in years on Thursday, sparking fires in and around the capital and forcing evacuations at the country\u2019s largest airport.<\/p>\n
Unverified videos on social media appeared to show large columns of black smoke over the city\u2019s skyline, while another showed drones flying overhead.<\/p>\n
The large-scale attack came hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to meet Southeast Asian leaders at a summit in the central city of Kazan, about 700km east of the capital.<\/p>\n
Kyiv has stepped up its drone strikes on Russia in recent months, hitting oil refineries that fund Moscow\u2019s war chest, as diplomatic talks on ending the more than four-year conflict remain stalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAir defence forces are continuing to repel a large-scale attack. Several drones managed to reach the MNPZ (Moscow Oil Refinery),\u201d Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. Authorities closed traffic on streets near the refinery.<\/p>\n
He did not specify damage to the facility, but several Russian media outlets reported that it was on fire.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s busiest airport, Moscow\u2019s Sheremetyevo, announced it had evacuated passengers to \u201csafe locations\u201d during the barrage and was restricting flights.<\/p>\n
Another drone crashed into an apartment building in the Moscow region district of Zhukovsky, while drone debris sparked a fire at a shopping centre near the capital\u2019s suburbs, Moscow region governor Andrey Vorobyov said.<\/p>\n
Russian air defences shot down 180 drones on approach to Moscow, Sobyanin said, while the Russian defence ministry reported it had intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight.<\/p>\n
The attack was the largest on Moscow in at least two years, Russia\u2019s state TASS news agency reported.<\/p>\n
Since the war began in 2022, Russia has pummelled Ukraine with near-daily aerial barrages of drones and missiles.<\/p>\n
Putin in Kazan<\/p>\n