Russia and Ukraine exchanged new attacks overnight on Thursday. Missiles struck Kyiv while Ukrainian drones hit a major oil refinery in Moscow, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders on efforts to end the war.
Explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital early on Thursday (18 June), according to witnesses, as air raid alerts sounded across much of the country. In the northeastern city of Sumy, local authorities said a drone attack killed one person.
Kyiv's military administration urged residents to remain in shelters as the attack unfolded.
"The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. Stay in safe places until the air raid alert is over!" said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, in a message posted on Telegram.
The latest strike on Kyiv was the second this week. It came as Zelenskyy continued diplomatic efforts to push Russia towards negotiations to end the conflict which now in its fifth year.
Speaking after meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Zelenskyy said he had held what he described as a "coordinating conversation" with Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders focused on finding a path to peace.
Earlier this week, a Russian attack on Kyiv killed 10 people and damaged a monastery dating back around 1,000 years. The site is widely regarded as an important symbol of Ukraine's religious and cultural heritage. Russia denied targeting the monastery.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Ukrainian drones struck Moscow's oil refinery for the second time in a week. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences had intercepted dozens of drones heading towards the capital, but some managed to reach the refinery.
"Air defense forces continue to repel a massive attack. Several drones managed to reach the Moscow oil refinery," Sobyanin said on Telegram.
Witnesses reported seeing flames and thick smoke rising above the Kapotnya district in south-eastern Moscow, where the refinery is located. Sobyanin added that falling drone debris caused minor damage to a shopping centre on the outskirts of the city.
The refinery attack follows a wider Ukrainian campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure. Industry sources have said repeated strikes have disrupted fuel production and contributed to fuel shortages in parts of Russia.
Russian-installed officials in Enerhodar, near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, said Ukrainian strikes killed one person and injured four others. Russian authorities also reported deaths and injuries from drone attacks in the Belgorod and Rostov regions.
Moscow on Wednesday accused Ukraine of targeting a bus carrying Belarusian schoolchildren, an allegation Kyiv dismissed as "false".
Both Russia and Ukraine continue to deny deliberately targeting civilians during the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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