There are moments when life in Moscow appears completely normal. Thursday morning was not one of them.
In the southeastern part of the city, an oil refinery had been struck during a Ukrainian drone attack, and even from a distance the scene was surreal.
Thick smoke rising from the direction of the facility darkened the sky. Like a giant black curtain, it hung over the Moscow skyline.
As extraordinary and eye-catching as the sight was, so too was the reaction of people living nearby.
Paying little attention to the enormous clouds of smoke, a fisherman sat beside a pond, gazing across the water while continuing to fish.
At a playground across the street, children played on the swings.
Shoppers came and went from a supermarket as if it were just another ordinary Thursday.
It was then that I realized my understanding of what is normal and what is not in Moscow needed updating.
For a long time, the war in Ukraine felt very distant to people in the Russian capital. Many preferred to believe it was not affecting them directly, but that has become increasingly difficult as the front line appears to be drawing closer.
Over the past year and a half, Muscovites have woken up to reports of military generals killed in Moscow and drone attacks targeting the capital.
In many ways, the abnormal has become the new normal.
Thursday’s strike was one of the largest aerial attacks on the Moscow region since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to damage at the oil refinery, shopping centers and residential buildings were also affected. According to the governor of the Moscow region, an eight-year-old girl was killed in a fire caused by one of the drone strikes.
“I’m not entirely surprised by what happened,” said Slava, who lives in an apartment block opposite the refinery. “But I didn’t expect such a large-scale attack.”
“I heard explosions and saw a lot of smoke. It’s something you usually only see in movies. I watched it from my apartment window.”
Another local resident, Nadezhda, saw nothing ordinary about the events unfolding around her.
“It took us four years to win World War II, even though our soldiers had little food and water,” she said.
“Today we have all the resources we need. Yet this war continues. I am shocked.”
How do Russian authorities respond to citizens like Nadezhda—Russians trying to understand why the Kremlin’s so-called “special military operation” has lasted so long and how the war has reached their city?
Russian officials regularly accuse the West of prolonging the war in Ukraine, blaming European leaders and NATO for supporting Kyiv.
Yet on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said nothing about the drone attack. Russian television news bulletins barely mentioned it.
When Russian newspapers reported on the story the following day, a common theme emerged in their coverage—a coordinated message, perhaps, for the domestic audience.
It could be summarized as follows: “As bad as it is for us, Ukraine is suffering even more.”
“Our strikes are causing far greater damage to Ukraine than Ukraine is causing to us,” declared the strongly pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.
“Our operations to demilitarize Ukraine are far more powerful and effective than Ukraine’s attacks,” wrote the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets.
A similar narrative appeared in the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta: “Our attacks on defense enterprises supporting the Ukrainian military are far more powerful than the attacks Russians are unfortunately experiencing.”
“Our strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure linked to the military-industrial complex are far more effective and deliver greater results,” commented the business daily Kommersant.
When the Kremlin finally responded, it delivered a similar message.
“You should look at more footage coming from various cities in Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
“The images showing the results of our armed forces’ strikes are impressive. These operations will continue.”
There is little indication that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian cities have caused Putin to reconsider his strategy. Based on his recent speeches and statements, the Kremlin leader appears determined to continue Russia’s offensive against Ukraine, convinced that his country will ultimately prevail in this war of attrition.
However, there are signs that Ukraine’s long-range strikes—particularly against Russian oil facilities—are increasing pressure on the Russian economy. Fuel shortages and gasoline rationing have been reported in several regions, while prices at fuel stations have risen.
In what has become the new normal, Moscow is bracing for more drone attacks.
“The Ukrainian attack on the Moscow region on June 18 will not be the last, nor even among the last,” predicted Moskovsky Komsomolets.
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” a woman said while looking up at the clouds of smoke.
“It is our government that must decide what to do. All we can do is watch.”
