Ukrainian Drones Hit Oil Refinery      06/18 06:22

   Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week and 
disrupted commercial flights at the city's airports in one of its biggest drone 
attacks since Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years 
ago, Russian officials said Thursday.

   (AP) -- Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week 
and disrupted commercial flights at the city's airports in one of its biggest 
drone attacks since Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four 
years ago, Russian officials said Thursday.

   The attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he 
had held "an important coordination call" with the presidents of the United 
States and France, and had won key pledges of further support from the G7 
summit this week.

   Zelenskyy was expected in Brussels later Thursday for talks with NATO and 
European Union leaders, including discussions about the possible building of a 
continental system to protect against ballistic missiles. Russia has 
relentlessly struck Ukraine with those types of missiles, which air defenses 
struggle to counter.

   Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russia's oil facilities, aiming to cut 
Moscow's revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the 
invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages.

   Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X: "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. Now that you know what's going on, ask Putin when he is 
planning to end it."

   Huge fires rage at Moscow refinery near Kremlin

   Images and video released by the Russian media showed massive fires raging 
at the Moscow Oil Refinery, located about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the 
Kremlin. Thick black clouds of smoke rose over the city.

   The refinery is one of Russia's biggest, according to its official website, 
and produces more than a third of the Moscow region's fuel. It was last 
attacked by Ukrainian drones on Tuesday, catching fire, but officials said the 
blaze was swiftly put out.

   Flights from four Moscow airports were temporarily halted, transport and 
aviation authorities said.

   In the Moscow region, which surrounds but does not include the capital city, 
a drone hit a residential building in the town of Zhukovsky, and the building 
was being evacuated, according to Gov. Andrei Vorobyov.

   Buildings elsewhere in the region were damaged by drone debris and 16 
people, including two children, were wounded, according to Vorobyov.

   Ukrainian drone attack embarrasses Putin again

   The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses overnight shot down 
555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions, with almost 200 intercepted as they 
were approaching the Russian capital.

   That was roughly double the number of drones that Russia launched at Ukraine 
overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.

   The attack was the latest embarrassment for Russian President Vladimir 
Putin, after a Ukrainian drone attack on his hometown of St. Petersburg earlier 
this month just as he held a showcase economic forum in the city with foreign 
VIP visitors.

   Putin on Thursday was in Kazan, some 700 kilometers (430 miles) east of 
Moscow, hosting leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as Russia 
seeks to bolster business and other ties with the nations of the regional bloc.

   Zelenskyy said the attack on Moscow was part of Ukraine's efforts to force 
Putin to the negotiating table. The Ukrainian president has accepted an 
unconditional ceasefire demanded by Trump but Putin has refused, and U.S.-led 
peace efforts have petered out.

   "If Putin does not want to end this war and wants to continue it, we will 
not sit quietly -- we will respond," he added in a voice message to a group 
chat with journalists.

   Ukraine disrupts Russian supply lines with drones

   As well as pledges of more diplomatic and military help at the G7 summit, 
Ukraine recently has gained momentum on the battlefield against Russia's bigger 
army thanks to its high-tech drones, Western officials and analysts say.

   Longer-range drone strikes are choking Russian supply lines in occupied 
regions of Ukraine, in addition to disrupting Russian oil production.

   Macron said the G7 summit was "very important for Ukraine" because its 
supporters -- crucially including the United States -- vowed to help it, 
although the French president provided no details. The U.S. under Trump has cut 
back assistance to Ukraine, leaving the Europeans as the biggest suppliers of 
military and financial aid. Trump and Zelenskyy have had an at times strained 
relationship.

   "America is with us on Ukraine, that is very important," Macron told 
reporters as he and Trump left the Palace of Versailles near Paris.