Story perspectives

Drone Swarm Hits Moscow Refinery, Halts Flights After Trump Call

6/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

Drones attacked Moscow hours after President Donald Trump spoke with Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron.
The drones struck the Gazpromneft refinery and halted flights at Moscow’s airports.
Moscow’s air defenses, which shot down dozens of drones, were reported to have downed hundreds more, prompting Lavrov to warn of coordinated strikes against Ukraine.
The attack injured 16 people and sparked fires at a Zhukovsky building and an outskirts mall.

History

Historical Context

After Ukraine’s Euromaidan ousted President Yanukovych, Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, leading the UN General Assembly (vote 100-11-58) to condemn it and prompting U.S., EU and Japanese sanctions. Those sanctions drove a rapid expansion of Russian air-defence under Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, enabling Moscow to intercept dozens of drones over the capital after a joint call by Presidents Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron.

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Story summary

Drones attacked Moscow hours after President Donald Trump spoke with Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron.
The drones struck the Gazpromneft refinery and halted flights at Moscow’s airports.
Moscow’s air defenses, which shot down dozens of drones, were reported to have downed hundreds more, prompting Lavrov to warn of coordinated strikes against Ukraine.
The attack injured 16 people and sparked fires at a Zhukovsky building and an outskirts mall.

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