The explosion was so powerful that the huge, disc-shaped lid of the oil storage tank flew into the sky above Moscow like a Frisbee.
Evading Russian air defenses, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery southeast of Moscow today for the second time in three days, sparking a fierce fire that sent clouds of black smoke billowing from the site.
The attacks are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign aimed at crippling the oil industry, whose revenues fund the Russian war effort, Reuters writes.
However, by hitting a piece of critical infrastructure located inside the Moscow ring road, just 16 kilometers from the Kremlin, Ukraine is also sending a message to ordinary Russians.
"One of the most common questions Muscovites are asking this morning is: 'What's going on?' I can answer. Your country has started a war of aggression against ours. It has been killing our people for years. Now that you know what's going on, ask Putin when he plans to end it," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha posted on X.
Kiev claims its strikes deep inside Russia are proof that it is turning the tide of the war - a message conveyed this week by President Volodymyr Zelensky to US President Donald Trump and other G7 leaders at a summit in France.
A Kremlin aide denied on Monday that the situation on the battlefield was changing in Ukraine's favor and said Trump was "pumped" with harmful ideas at the meeting. There was no immediate comment from President Vladimir Putin, who was hosting Southeast Asian leaders for a summit in the city of Kazan.
During more than four years of war, political analysts and pollsters say many Russians have sought to suppress the reality of the conflict, which the Kremlin still calls a "special military operation," and move on with their lives.
Moscow has been the target of drone attacks since May 2023, when two reached the Kremlin itself without causing any damage. Until now, such attacks have barely disrupted daily life in the city of 13 million.
On Thursday, however, there was widespread disruption across the capital. Flights were suspended at all Moscow airports, and traffic was brought to a standstill on the city's ring road near the refinery. Sheremetyevo, Moscow's busiest airport, was evacuated.
In online chats, some residents complained about the lack of warning, stating that sirens had not sounded.
A Moscow news channel reported that suburban residents said the downpour had left stains and traces of oil on cars and window sills.
In a sign of the broader economic impact of the Ukrainian attacks, gasoline shortages have emerged in parts of the country in recent weeks.
Russia, the world's third-largest oil producer and a major exporter of oil and fuel, is set to import fuel by sea this month, industry sources told Reuters.
Moscow authorities have said the situation with gasoline in the capital and surrounding areas is "normal," but the federal antimonopoly service has asked a major retailer to explain why it raised prices for the most popular type of gasoline by 19 percent last week.
For Kiev, the value of the attack is partly symbolic. Footage of the fires and destruction in the Russian capital quickly spread online, often accompanied by mocking and jubilant comments about Moscow.
Andrei Medvedev, a pro-government blogger and Russian television host, said those who publish such footage should be prosecuted.
"A few days ago, some idiots recorded and published a video, and the enemy watched it, evaluated it and adjusted the next strike. So, those who published the video committed pure treason," he wrote on Telegram.
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