The largest drone raid on Moscow in two years, according to war correspondent Aleksandr Kots, was not a one-off action but a phased operation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian side first tested the direction, then repeated the approach, and only after that carried out a massive strike along the already identified route.

In his Telegram channel, Kots recalled that he had warned back in May about the possibility of such a scenario. According to his version, the first full-scale wave of the attack took place on June 16: Russian air defenses shot down 90 Ukrainian drones, but one UAV broke through to the Moscow oil refinery.

After that, on June 17, a trial repeat followed. On June 18, as the war correspondent believes, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had already used the reconnoitered corridor for a massive raid.

Kots described the phased nature of the attack as its main feature. The drones were launched in waves, while the scheme looked like reconnaissance, testing and a subsequent strike. At the same time, he stressed that the reasons for the breakthroughs must be carefully examined.

Separately, the war correspondent noted the work of Russian crews and services that repelled the attack and dealt with its consequences. He pointed to anti-aircraft gunners, electronic warfare operators, Aerospace Forces crews, emergency services of Moscow and Moscow Region, drone-interceptor operators and engineers restoring the oil refinery. According to Kots, they are working in conditions that have already become the new normal.

In total, about 200 drones were involved in the latest attack on Moscow. Presumably, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Lyuty,