On Thursday, Moscow residents were greeted with an unusual sight.
Smoke above parts of the Russian capital.
Distant explosions.
And again questions about how far the war between Russia and Ukraine has come after more than four years of fighting.
Officials in Russia said hundreds of Ukrainian drones targeted various areas across the country, with several striking Moscow and hitting the city’s oil refinery for a second time in days.
For many Russians, scenes like these were once almost inconceivable.
They are getting more used to them now.
Smoke Over Moscow
Witnesses saw flames and thick smoke rising above the southeastern district of Kapotnya, where the refinery that helps supply fuel to the Russian capital is located.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defence systems had succeeded in shooting down many of the incoming drones, but admitted some had been able to strike their targets.
Authorities said minor damage was also reported to a shopping center and other buildings.
Moscow and other parts of Russia were struck by hundreds of drones, the defence ministry said, in one of the biggest such attacks on the capital this year.
The attack caused widespread disruptions across the city.
Moscow airports were temporarily closed and traffic was suspended on highways near affected areas. Sheremetyevo airport, the city`s busiest air hub, was evacuated as a precaution, reports said.
Large-scale strikes on Moscow are still relatively rare compared to the daily fighting in the vicinity of the front lines, but they are becoming more common as Ukraine expands its long-range drone capabilities.
Ukraine’s Response to the Attacks
The message behind the operation has been little concealed by the Ukrainian leadership.
Answers of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha to the questions of Russians directly referred to the conflict unleashed by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Moscow.
“Your country began a war of aggression against ours”, he posted on social media.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also defended the strikes, saying they were a response to repeated Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Kyiv hopes that by bringing the war closer to Russian territory it will pressure Moscow into negotiations.
For years much of the destruction from the fighting had been concentrated within Ukraine.
But Kyiv authorities say Russia must also be made to pay the price for a war that has ravaged so many Ukrainian towns and villages.
Critical Infrastructure Targets
One of the key features of the latest attack was the alleged hit on Moscow’s refinery.
Energy infrastructure has also become an increasingly contested part of the conflict.
Ukraine has targeted oil facilities, fuel depots and refineries that help prop up Russia’s economy and military operations for months.
Earlier attacks had already disrupted operations at the Moscow refinery earlier in the week, industry sources said.
Those strikes, as well as other damage to facilities, are reported to be creating new challenges for Russia’s fuel supply.
Russia is still one of the world’s top oil producers and any damage to its refining capacity can have economic repercussions beyond its borders.
Some reports suggest Russia might need to import fuel to replace shortages caused by repeated attacks.
Russia continues to hit Ukraine with missiles
Ukrainian cities came under renewed attack as drones headed for Moscow.
Explosions were reported in Kyiv as air raid alerts were sounded across much of the country.
Officials warned residents to take cover, fearing incoming ballistic missiles.
Separately, authorities in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine reported one person was killed in a separate drone strike.
The attacks came just days after another massive Russian strike damaged a centuries-old monastery in Kyiv that holds deep cultural and religious importance for Ukraine.
The destruction of the historic site drew condemnation from a number of European leaders.
Russia denied deliberately targeting the landmark.
A War That Keeps Evolving
More than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war looks very different from what many analysts expected.
The early predictions of a short war were wrong.
Both sides have adapted, bringing in new technologies and strategies that continue to reshape the battlefield.
Drones in particular have emerged as one of the defining features of the conflict.
The simple reconnaissance tools have become long-range weapons capable of striking hundreds of miles behind the front lines.
Ukraine believes these capabilities will help shift the momentum.
Russian officials disagree, claiming their forces still have the upper hand.
Competing narratives are at the heart of the war, as with so much of the war.
Peace Still Seems A Long Way Off
There is little sign of a breakthrough despite a renewal of diplomatic efforts.
President Zelenskyy has continued to call on allies to ramp up pressure on Moscow and back moves to end the war.
At the same time, Russian leaders have kept saying that Ukraine must agree to territorial concessions before serious negotiations can start.
Kyiv rejected those demands.
Ukrainian officials say giving up more territory would simply reward aggression and incite further conflicts.
The gap between the two sides is still enormous.
Diplomatic talks continue behind the scenes but fighting on the ground – and increasingly off of it – shows no sign of slowing.
The war comes home Thursday’s attacks were a reminder for residents of Moscow that the war is no longer something that happens hundreds of miles away.
For Ukrainians, such sights are painfully familiar after years of missile attacks and destruction.
The two countries continue to blame each other for escalating the war.
They both say they are acting in self-defence.
And both seem intent on continuing the fight until the conditions for peace are more to their liking.
Dawn over Moscow and the wail of sirens through Kyiv. One thing was clear yet again.
More than four years into the war, its effects are being felt further away from the front lines.
And for millions of people on both sides, the hope for peace remains clouded by another day of explosions, uncertainty and a conflict that offers no easy path to an end.