Ukraine's Thousand Drones Turn Moscow into Sea of Fire; 'These Two Models' Key to Long-Range Attack

Ukraine unleashed its largest drone assault of the full-scale war on June 18, deploying nearly a thousand drones against Moscow and its environs. The massive saturation attack, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy deemed "fully justified retaliation," aimed to directly strike Russia's war-funding fossil fuel sources and make Russian citizens experience the tangible costs of the conflict.

The Ukrainian operation involved a swarm attack tactic, with drones flying from multiple secret bases simultaneously. During the night and early morning, they penetrated over 500 kilometers into Russian territory. This unprecedented scale overwhelmed Russia's air defense systems around the capital, allowing some drones to break through. The attack forced the indefinite closure of Moscow's four major airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky.

Central to this offensive were Ukraine's long-range "Liutyi" (Fierce) and "Barracuda" drones. The "Liutyi," a sausage-shaped drone with a propeller, boasts a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers. Its construction from low-cost, easily assembled composite materials, coupled with precise satellite and inertial navigation, makes it ideal for night saturation attacks. The "Barracuda" and similar models are noted for their strong electronic counter-countermeasures capabilities and significant payload capacity, enabling them to penetrate dense air defenses and strike targets like fuel tanks, as seen in the attack on the Kapotnya refinery.

This assault marked the second devastating strike on the Kapotnya refinery within a week, specifically targeting critical crude oil processing equipment. The attack effectively paralyzed the facility, cutting off nearly 40% of fuel supply to the greater Moscow region. Images shared by locals depicted large fires and a suspected oil tank lid being blown off by the explosions.

“

fully justified retaliation