Volodymyr Zelensky has said that “Moscow will burn” if attacks continue after Ukraine launched a heavy drone strike on Russia in retaliation for damage done to a historic monastery in Kyiv this week.
Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow overnight, hitting the Russian capital's oil refinery for the second time this week, in one of the biggest aerial assaults on Russia of the war so far.
The Ukrainian president said: “We don't want this war, we never did, and everyone knows it, and our partners know it," Zelenskiy said in a voice message sent to reporters on a WhatsApp group. "But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn.”
It comes after at least 10 people were killed on Monday across Ukraine in a drone and missile attack that damaged the 1,000-year-old Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery.
Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobhyanin said around 180 drones heading for the capital alone had been downed on Thursday. Hours earlier, Trump said that Vladimir Putin needs the war in Ukraine to end as Moscow is losing more troops than Kyiv.
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Key Points
- Zelensky says air defence, PURL will be central to Ramstein talks
- Zelensky says he spoke to Trump and Macron after G7 summit
- Moscow refinery on fire as Russia downs 555 Ukrainian drones, traffic halted
- Kyiv attacked hours after Trump counts Putin’s battlefield losses
- Macron says Trump 'took note of fact Russia does not want peace'
- Flights at all Moscow airports suspended after Ukrainian drone attack
- In photos: Moscow under siege as more than 500 drones attack Russia
Russian regulator demands explanation after one Moscow chain of petrol stations hikes prices by 19 per cent
13:30 , Bryony GoochRussia's anti-monopoly watchdog on Thursday asked a major petrol retailer in Moscow for an explanation after it hiked prices for 95-octane petrol by 19 per cent in the last week.
FAS, the watchdog, sent the demand to Neftemagistral, a company which runs around 100 petrol stations in the Moscow region and in the capital itself.
The price hike followed Ukrainian drone attacks on a Moscow oil refinery, which supplies the Moscow region with fuel.
In pictures: A person sweeps up debris following a Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow region
13:00 , Bryony Gooch
Russia and Ukraine carry out another exchange of war dead, RBC reports
12:30 , Bryony GoochRussia and Ukraine carried out another exchange of war dead on Thursday, with Moscow receiving 33 bodies and Ukraine receiving 522 bodies, Russia's RBC news outlet reported, citing a Russian lawmaker.
Zelensky: 'Moscow will burn' if attacks continue
12:06 , Bryony GoochUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday heavy drone attacks on Russia were retaliation for a strike that damaged a historic monastery in Kyiv this week, and that "Moscow will burn" if attacks continue.
Scores of drones targeted Moscow overnight, hitting the Russian capital's oil refinery for the second time this week.
“We don't want this war, we never did, and everyone knows it, and our partners know it," Zelensky said in a voice message sent to reporters on a WhatsApp group. "But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn."
At least 10 people were killed on Monday across Ukraine in a drone and missile attack that damaged the 1,000-year-old Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery.
Russia fires 246 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight
12:00 , Bryony GoochRussia launched seven missiles and 239 drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, Ukraine’s air forces reported.
Forces were able to down or suppress 216 targets - including four missiles and 212 drones.
Missiles came from the Voronezh, Bryansk and Kursk regions. Drones were fired from Kursk, Orel, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, as well as the Russian occupied Crimea and Donetsk regions.
Suspect detained after Russian artist shot in Poland
11:30 , Bryony GoochA suspect has been detained by authorities after a Russian artist who was critical of President Vladimir Putin was shot dead, the Polish prime minister has confirmed.
Donald Tusk said that the suspect, using a Georgian passport, had been detained by Lublin police and the internal security agency as services work to “establish the mastermind”.
He warned on Wednesday that the killing had all the hallmarks of a political assassination.
Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot and killed at close range near his home in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska on Monday.
Podejrzewany o udział w zabójstwie Rosjanina w Białej Podlaskiej zatrzymany przez lubelskich policjantów i ABW! Posługuje się gruzińskim paszportem. Służby pracują nad ustaleniem zleceniodawcy.
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) June 18, 2026
Macron says Trump 'took note of fact Russia does not want peace'
11:00 , Arpan RaiEmmanuel Macron has said that president Donald Trump “took notice” of the fact that Russia was not seeking peace.
Speaking at a press conference at the G7 summit, the French president said Washington acknowledged that Moscow was not looking to end its war in Ukraine.
He said the G7 had “showed a real change in the approach from the US on Ukraine”.
Trump had earlier suggested that the US could impose sanctions on Russia if it did not take steps to end the war.
Kremlin says new Ukrainian attacks set back prospects for Putin-Zelenskiy meeting, IFX reports
10:57 , Bryony GoochUkraine's latest attacks on Russia are pushing back the prospect of any direct contacts between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Ushakov made his remarks after Moscow bore the brunt of one of the largest Ukrainian aerial assaults of the war so far.
Zelensky says air defence, PURL will be central to Ramstein talks
10:55 , Bryony GoochThe supply of air defences to Ukraine through NATO's PURL programme and the creation of an anti-ballistic missile system by Ukraine and its allies will be discussed at a meeting of the group on Thursday, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In a voice message sent to reporters on a WhatsApp group, Zelensky said that the overnight strikes on Moscow and other locations in Russia were a response to a Russian strike this week that damaged a medieval Ukrainian monastery complex.
16 people injured in drone attacks on Moscow, authorities report
10:30 , Bryony GoochMore than a dozen people have been injured in Ukrainian drone attacks on the Moscow region, authorities have said.
Moscow’s regional governor said 16 people were injured in drone attacks that hit the Russian capital's oil refinery for the second time this week.
Russia, for its part, fired missiles into Kyiv, also for the second time this week, following an attack that damaged Kyiv's landmark 1,000-year-old monastery and drew international condemnation.
Russia is firing warning shots off the Isle of Wight: How worried should Britain be?
10:15 , Arpan RaiA Russian warship fired warning shots at a retired British couple sailing on a UK-registered yacht in the English channel, risking a major international incident.
The frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired several shots near the 40ft civilian yacht, Bright Future, on Tuesday as it sailed around 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight.
The popular route is regularly traversed by ferries, yachts, commercial ships and the international high-speed rail service, the Eurostar.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson insisted that that the event was “an isolated incident” that was “not linked” to the UK’s interception of the Russian shadow fleet tanker the Smyrtos over the weekend.
Russia is firing warning shots off the Isle of Wight: How worried should Britain be?
Zelensky says Moscow oil refinery hit and asks Russia to choose diplomacy
10:00 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces attacked the Moscow oil refinery in Kapotnya for the second time in a week as he said it is about time the war ended.
“Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
He said the attack was a “fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities” and against the facilities that “sustain Russia’s war machine”.
“It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine is stepping up its aerial attacks on Russia – and in particular its critical oil infrastructure – to demonstrate to allies in the US and Europe that it is now of the offensive and Russia is on the defensive, giving Kyiv the strategic edge to end the war.
Zelensky's G7 allies issued a joint statement after this week's G7 summit noting Ukraine's battlefield progress and that Russia is sustaining record losses.
Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a fully justified response to… pic.twitter.com/NhFl4FlT9L
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 18, 2026
Zelensky will join Ukraine alliance meeting at Nato, Rutte says
09:45 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will join a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, an alliance that provides military aid for Kyiv, at Nato headquarters in Brussels today, secretary general Mark Rutte said.
The meeting comes after Zelensky also attended a gathering of G7 leaders in France, which ended with a joint statement of support for Kyiv and a vow to increase pressure on Russia.
Kyic faces ballistic missiles attack overnight
09:30 , Arpan RaiKyiv came under the second air attack this week as Russia unleashed ballistic missiles on the Ukrainian capital, city officials said.
"The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. Stay in safe places until the air raid alert is over!" Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said in a Telegram post early on Thursday, without details.
A Reuters witness heard explosions in Kyiv, and authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy said one person was killed in a drone attack. Air strike alerts were issued for most of Ukraine's territory.
Earlier this week, a 1,000-year-old monastery that symbolises Ukraine's spiritual and cultural heritage was badly damaged in a major attack by Russia that killed 10 people nationwide. The attack drew condemnation from European leaders. Russia denied striking the monastery.
Watch: Trump claims Moscow losing more troops than Kyiv as he admits Putin on ‘the offensive’
09:15 , Arpan RaiPhotos show massive destruction and oil tanker lid blown in Moscow
09:05 , Arpan Rai
One killed as drones spark fire at two commercial facilities in Russia's Rostov
08:44 , Arpan RaiA drone attack killed one, injured another two people and caused a fire at two commercial facilities in the southern Russian region of Rostov, regional governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram.
He added that a locomotive was also damaged after drones attacked the town of Gukovo, saying that defence systems continued to repel the attack.
Sweden, Norway and Canada to announce defence package for Ukraine
08:34 , Arpan RaiSweden, Norway and Canada will announce a new Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) package to supply Ukraine with US weapons, Sweden's defence minister Pal Jonson said in Brussels today.
Zelensky says Moscow oil refinery hit and asks Russia to choose diplomacy
08:18 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces attacked the Moscow oil refinery in Kapotnya for the second time in a week as he said it is about time the war ended.
“Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
He said the attack was a “fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities” and against the facilities that “sustain Russia’s war machine”.
“It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine is stepping up its aerial attacks on Russia – and in particular its critical oil infrastructure – to demonstrate to allies in the US and Europe that it is now of the offensive and Russia is on the defensive, giving Kyiv the strategic edge to end the war.
Zelensky's G7 allies issued a joint statement after this week's G7 summit noting Ukraine's battlefield progress and that Russia is sustaining record losses.
Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a fully justified response to… pic.twitter.com/NhFl4FlT9L
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 18, 2026
Zelensky will join Ukraine alliance meeting at Nato, Rutte says
06:40 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will join a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, an alliance that provides military aid for Kyiv, at Nato headquarters in Brussels today, secretary general Mark Rutte said.
The meeting comes after Zelensky also attended a gathering of G7 leaders in France, which ended with a joint statement of support for Kyiv and a vow to increase pressure on Russia.
Timeline of UK-Russia incidents at sea since the war in Ukraine began
06:16 , Arpan RaiThe Ministry of Defence (MoD) is investigating after a Russian warship fired warning shots at a British yacht that came near it in the English Channel.
The Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian frigate, fired warning shots after making attempts to contact the yacht, the MoD claimed, in order to prevent a potential collision. Russia’s defence ministry has claimed its sailors were acting “in strict accordance” with international shipping regulations.
While this is being viewed as an isolated incident, it came days after tensions between the UK and Russia spiked when Britain seized a sanctioned vessel transiting through the Channel.
Timeline of UK-Russia incidents at sea since the war in Ukraine began
