Ukrainian drones strike the Moscow oil refinery once again in one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since the invasion. Ukraine strikes a railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal. Russia launches seven ballistic missiles and 239 drones on Ukraine overnight.
Ukraine drones strike Moscow oil refinery once again in one of largest attacks on Russian capital since invasion
Waves of Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow on Thursday morning. It amounted to one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since the invasion. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defenses destroyed more than 190 Ukrainian drones on approach to the capital. Drones struck the Moscow oil refinery for the second time in just a few days. A massive fire erupted, there were several seats of fire.
“The Kremlin realizes that out-of-reach areas are becoming fewer,” Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Major Robert Brovdi who goes by the call sign Magyar said on social media on Thursday. He also released a photo of a drone with writing on its wing, saying “Moscovites, how do you like such [spiritual] clamps?” (A reference to the term “spiritual clamps,” or dukhovnyie skriepy in Russian, an equivalent to the concept of traditional values – edit.).
“A recipe of the borsch of retaliation from the Freedom-Loving Ukrainian Bird: fierce but pragmatic screening and destruction of the enemy’s fuel and energy complex and defense industrial base used as sources to finance and maintain the war, destruction of the air defenses and enemy’s manpower,” Brovdi said. “The conveyor of retaliation is running,” he added.
He said the Thursday attack on Moscow had been carried out by the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces, 9th “Kairos” Battalion of the 414th “Magyar’s Birds” Separate Brigade, 413th “Raid” Separate Regiment and the 412th “Nemesis” Separate Brigade, in cooperation with Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, Security Service and Main Intelligence Department of the Defense Ministry.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that Ukraine had struck the Moscow oil refinery once again overnight on Thursday. The refinery processes more than 12 million tons of oil a year. The facility supplies the Russian army, it said.
“[Drones] hit target, and a massive fire was recorded at the plant. There are at least five seats of fire at the moment. Preliminary geolocation shows that a combined oil processing unit, secondary oil processing unit and oil tanks are on fire,” the General Staff said on Thursday.
Commenting on the Thursday strike on Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said: “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 Russian attacks on our cities and communities, and another important result of our warriors’ work against facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine.”
“In recent days, all of our partners have noted the precision and effectiveness of our mid-range strikes and long-range sanctions. It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy,” he also said.
Ukraine strikes railway bridge over North Crimean Canal
The Ukrainian military struck a railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal near Rozdolne in Crimea and a car bridge over the Kalka river near Hranitne in Donetsk region overnight on Thursday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a post to social media.
“These facilities were used by the enemy for military transportation and logistical support of the occupying forces,” it said.
The railway bridge is the most important one on the railway line between Kerch and Dzhankoy. In case it gets damaged, the cargo and passenger train traffic to Crimea will be paralyzed, Telegram channel Krymskyi Veter (Crimean Wind) said. Trains from Russia, reaching the peninsula through the Kerch Bridge, would only be able to get to Vladyslavivka station or Feodosiya, Ukrainian media said.
Eyewitness accounts described hearing around 20 explosions near the bridge overnight. Satellite images showed a fire near the bridge.
They also showed a fire at a railway section near Vladyslavivka that resulted from the attack. It is a key railway node in eastern Crimea. Trains from Kerch pass it on their way to Dzhankoy and Feodosiya, news site The New Voice of Ukraine said.
Ukrainian drones also attacked the road “humpbacked” bridge near Rozdolne overnight on Thursday.
Unofficial Telegram channels reported fires near two car bridges over the Promoyina Strait on the Arabat Spit in Kherson region.
Since early June, Russian-installed authorities of the occupied part of Kherson region have been reporting about systematic strikes on the bridges linking the region of Kherson to Crimea. On June 15, Russia-installed head of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo said a major drone attack had damaged the bridges in Kherson region, particularly one near Chonhar. Once in a while, Saldo orders to halt the traffic through the Dzhankoy control point.
Russia launches seven ballistic missiles, 239 drones on Ukraine overnight
Russia launched seven ballistic missiles and 239 drones at Ukraine overnight on Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a daily update. It sent seven Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles from the regions of Voronezh, Bryansk and Kursk. The drones were launched from the area of Russia’s Kursk, Oryol, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and from Hvardiyske in occupied Crimea.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down or otherwise neutralized 212 drones and four missiles. Two missiles and 26 drones hit target in nine locations, and debris from missiles and drones fell in seven sites, the Air Force added.