Ukraine Hits Moscow with 555 Drones, Courts Trump for
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- Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences intercepted 555 Ukrainian drones overnight, with almost 200 shot down approaching Moscow, and Mayor Sobyanin confirmed several drones hit a city oil refinery while a shopping centre suffered minor damage.
- The Moscow oil refinery—which supplies around 40% of the capital's petrol and oil products—was still burning heavily as emergency services worked to contain the fires, marking the second strike on the facility this week after a Tuesday attack halted operations.
- Kyiv came under its second Russian air attack this week, hit by ballistic missiles after at least 239 drones and 7 ballistic missiles were launched at Ukraine overnight, with Ukraine saying it intercepted the majority; one person was killed in a drone strike on Sumy.
- In the surrounding Moscow region, a high-rise residential building, an industrial facility, and private houses were damaged, and Sheremetyevo airport suspended flights and evacuated passengers.
- Zelenskyy said he coordinated with Trump, Macron, and other G7 leaders, securing commitments of more air defence missiles, production licenses, a winter support package, and US 'backstop' across those lines of effort.
- G7 leaders pledged to strengthen Ukraine's air defences and tighten sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sectors, while Trump told reporters he would 'do whatever I can' to end the war.
- Earlier this week, a Russian attack on Kyiv killed 11 people and damaged a UNESCO-listed 1,000-year-old monastery, drawing condemnation from European leaders.
Why it matters: Ukraine is simultaneously escalating strikes on a refinery that supplies 40% of Moscow's fuel and locking in concrete Western backing—air defence missiles, production licenses, a winter package, and US 'backstop'—pressuring Russia's war economy at the moment Zelenskyy is racing to convert diplomatic momentum into a deal.
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