Ukraine drone hits Moscow oil refinery triggering fire

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A drone hit a major oil refinery just outside Moscow on Tuesday, triggering a fire and causing damage, Russian authorities said, as Ukraine claimed the attack was retribution for Russia’s own strikes.

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The strike comes a day after Ukraine said Moscow fired more than 600 drones and 70 missiles across the country, killing at least 11 people and damaging the site of a UNESCO-listed Orthodox monastery in Kyiv.

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“Over the past 24 hours, enemy drone attacks on Moscow have continued. One of the drones damaged a Moscow oil refinery facility. There were no casualties,” Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Russia’s state-run Max platform.

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According to Sobyanin, 60 drones launched at Moscow have been intercepted on Tuesday, in what the TASS state news agency called one of the largest barrages targeting the Russian capital this year.

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The southeastern Kapotnya area of the capital, where the refinery — owned by the Gazprom energy giant — is located, was closed to traffic, local authorities said.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was behind the strike.

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“This time, the Moscow region felt the reach of Ukraine’s long-range capabilities. An oil refinery was hit at a distance of 500 kilometres (310 miles),” he said on social media.

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He posted footage that showed a drone flying above apartment blocks and hitting an industrial area before exploding next to a red-and-white chimney, with plumes of smoke billowing over the site.

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“This is a just response to Russian strikes — and to the dragging out of a war that must be ended,” Zelensky said.

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Russia has pummelled Ukraine with near-daily aerial barrages of drones and missiles since it launched its offensive in 2022.

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Kyiv has in the past months stepped up its strikes on Russia, regularly hitting oil-processing facilities and its export hubs in a bid to sap the vital fossil fuel revenues funding Moscow’s war effort.

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AFP

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