Ukraine hits a Moscow oil refinery and other sites in a large-scale drone attack

Black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft's Moscow oil refinery on the outskirts of Moscow on Thursday. Moscow was fending off a "large-scale" drone attack from Ukraine, with several drones reaching an oil refinery, the city's mayor said. AFP/via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption AFP/via Getty Images MOSCOW — Ukraine launched a new wave of drone attacks on Russia early Thursday, with the majority targeting Moscow. It amounted to one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defenses destroyed nearly 200 Ukrainian drones on approach to the capital — but acknowledged several had managed to hit the city's main oil refinery for the second time this week. Videos circulating on social media showed drones repeatedly striking the facility, sending large fireballs upward — and expletives tumbling out of many a Russian mouth. In a separate instance, a drone explosion sent the lid of a round oil container rocketing skyward . While the scene was very much real, it resembled a CGI effect from a Hollywood movie. Russian intercepts appear to have played a role in some of the damage. One intercept sent a drone crashing into a megamall in southeast Moscow, setting the complex ablaze. In another instance, a drone slammed into a high-rise apartment building. …