With the arrival of summer, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is becoming even more intense, if that is possible. A few days ago, we reported on the Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, which seriously damaged the Kyiv Monastery, one of the country's earliest churches and among the oldest in this part of the world. That attack drew almost unanimous international criticism of Putin, but Ukraine has today responded with fire.
Dozens of Ukrainian drones flew over Moscow and struck the capital's largest oil refinery, halting production. Reuters reports seeing large plumes of black smoke rising into the sky over the densely populated Kapotnya district, where the refinery supplying the capital is located.
The Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, reports that at the time of writing, "air defence forces are continuing to repel a massive attack."
Ukraine is shifting its defence strategy against the Russian invasion to selectively target Russian energy supply and production routes, a move that has almost succeeded in cutting Crimea off from Russian influence (after more than 12 years of illegal annexation), as well as bringing Russian crude oil exports to a standstill. Ukraine is convinced that its current drone strategy could accelerate a change of stance in Moscow to force a peace agreement, which Putin is still resisting.