Furious Vladimir Putin vows revenge after Moscow burns in devastating Ukrainian attack

Vladimir Putin has vowed to take revenge after Moscow was devastated by a swarm of Ukrainian drones.

Russia has vowed to carry out "massive group strikes" on Kyiv in retaliation for the strikes.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an appearance at the G7, Kyiv launched hundreds of drones against the Moscow Oil Refinery.

Video showed huge plumes of black smoke rise over Moscow, with one resident describing it as "pure hell".

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Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said air defences had gunned down 194 drones on approach to the city, while the Russian Defence Ministry claimed more than 550 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across the country.

While Mr Putin did not personally respond to the strikes, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did.

Mr Lavrov raged: "It is no coincidence that the President announced some time ago, after another stunt by the Kyiv terrorists, that we would now carry out massive group strikes on a regular basis.

"This task has been set by the supreme commander-in-chief, and our armed forces are fulfilling it and will continue to fulfil it," he added.

Ukraine's strikes were a "completely justified" response to Russian attacks earlier this week, Mr Zelensky said.

Russian drones damaged "Ukraine's holiest site" - the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a place with significance to the Orthodox Catholic Church, Mr Zelensky said.

"It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy," the Ukrainian President said as he called for peace.

On a Telegram message, the Ukrainian President warned that if the war continued through winter, his nation would need at least 300 more missiles and a winter fuel assistance package.

And he also called for Ukraine to be fast-tracked into the European Union, describing it as the "most important" step to securing the country's defence.

Voices within the bloc have called for talks to be held with Mr Putin to negotiate peace.

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Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker told the Financial Times wars were ended with "successful diplomacy".

"And for diplomacy to be successful, you need conversations, you need negotiations, and those channels need to be opened first," he said.

The Russian leader is currently hosting a summit with a different continental bloc.

He is shaking hands with the ASEAN nations, which include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.

"It is a strategic partnership that serves as an essential stabilizing factor in the Asia-Pacific amidst geopolitical turbulence, contributing to the formation of a balanced security architecture and equitable mutually beneficial cooperation," Mr Putin said, from Kazan, Russia.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, has also called for peace between the two Eastern European countries.

Before the President signed the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, he met with Mr Zelensky and French President Emanuel Macron in what Ukraine's leader described as a "coordinating conversation".

"I am grateful to President Trump for his attention to Ukraine and for his readiness to help bring peace closer. I am grateful to Emmanuel for the excellent organisation of the summit and the consistently strong joint work," Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

The Kremlin said European leaders had likely "pumped" Trump with "harmful ideas".

Foreign Policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the American President had been misinformed about the state of the of affairs in Ukraine, adding that Moscow was still expecting a visit from US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

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