Several Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, with some coming within two miles of the Kremlin, Russian officials said Friday. The attacks, part of an escalating series of strikes on Russian territory, also included a hit on an oil refinery in the southern Krasnodar region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that four drones were heading toward the capital but were successfully neutralized by Russian air defenses. "Emergency services are working at the site where debris came down," Sobyanin said on his official Telegram channel. Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov confirmed that one drone was shot down over the Yuzhnaya Bitsa district, where its wreckage landed on an unoccupied building under construction.
Footage captured from a shop surveillance camera on Yuzhnyy Bul'var showed the moment of impact in Bitsa, with car alarms sounding in the aftermath. Another drone reportedly struck the roof of a multi-story residential building in western Moscow, according to the RIA news agency, while TASS reported debris falling on a private house on the city's outskirts.
In a separate attack, a Ukrainian strike targeted the Tuapse oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, setting a gasoline tank ablaze. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed on Telegram that the fire spread across more than 1,000 square meters. "As many as 121 firefighters are working to contain the flames," Kondratyev said, without specifying whether the facility was struck by a drone or a missile.
The Tuapse refinery, which processes 240,000 barrels per day, is a key export hub supplying China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Turkey with refined petroleum products, including naphtha and high-sulfur diesel. Video footage taken from a passing train showed massive flames engulfing the facility, with onlookers identifying it as a Rosneft-owned site.
The latest strikes come as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to discuss a proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. The effort, backed by Washington and Kyiv, aims to initiate a phased peace process to end the war. Steve Witkoff's trip is "part of our continued efforts to press Russia to agree to a ceasefire and stop its brutal war against Ukraine," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Former President Donald Trump, who has been involved in the discussions, described the ceasefire as "phase one" of a broader peace negotiation. Talks have reportedly included discussions over territorial disputes and the control of a "very big power plant," though specific locations were not disclosed.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials had earlier agreed to the ceasefire framework in discussions held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the proposal is now awaiting Russia's response. "The ball is now truly in their court," Rubio said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest statements on the ceasefire as a stalling tactic. "Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said in his Thursday evening address. "And that is why they there, in Moscow, are setting the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will work out at all or that it will not work out for as long as possible."
