Key Facts

• A Ukrainian drone attack on an oil refinery in the south-east of Moscow on Thursday morning resulted in thick smoke billowing from the facility, with eyewitnesses describing the sight as surreal and the sky turning dark.
• The attack, which was one of the largest aerial assaults on the Moscow region since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, damaged not only the oil refinery but also shopping centres and residential buildings, and killed an eight-year-old girl in a fire caused by one of the drone strikes.
• Local residents, such as Slava, who lives in an apartment block opposite the oil refinery, reported hearing explosions and seeing lots of smoke, describing it as the kind of thing you normally see in the movies.
• Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have responded to the attack by downplaying its significance and instead accusing the West of prolonging the war in Ukraine, with the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters to look for more footage coming out of various cities in Ukraine.
• The Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian cities, particularly on Russian oil facilities, are increasing pressure on the Russian economy, with petrol shortages and rationing reported in some parts of the country and prices rising at the pumps.