Moscow oil refinery damaged during large-scale overnight attack
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A massive fire broke out at the Kapotnya oil refinery following a drone attack (Photo: Exilenova+)
Drones launched a large-scale attack on Moscow and the surrounding region overnight into Sept. 20, with a major fire breaking out at the Moscow oil refinery in the capital’s Kapotnya district.
Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported the attack and published footage of the fire on Sept. 20.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later acknowledged that a facility on the territory of the refinery had been damaged.
“The drone attack on Moscow continues. A facility on the territory of the Moscow Oil Refinery has been damaged. There are no casualties. Emergency services are working at the site,” Sobyanin said.
He subsequently reported that a drone had also struck a building near Orekhovy Boulevard in southern Moscow.
Monitoring channels published videos showing a large fire and thick smoke rising from the Kapotnya refinery.
Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that drones had hit the refinery, citing Russian officials and footage from the scene. The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
Sobyanin later claimed that Russian air defenses had destroyed 152 drones targeting Moscow.
The figure could not be independently verified.
Moscow refinery previously halted after Ukrainian strikes
The Moscow refinery, operated by Gazprom Neft, is one of Russia’s largest oil-processing facilities and a major supplier of fuel to Moscow and the surrounding region.
The plant processed about 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil in 2024.
It has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones in 2026.
A Ukrainian drone strike on June 16 damaged the refinery’s CDU-6 primary crude-processing unit, which accounted for about 53% of its capacity, Reuters reported on June 16, citing industry sources.
The damage forced the refinery to halt operations.
Two days later, on June 18, the facility was struck again. That attack damaged the Euro+ processing unit, which had a capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day and accounted for roughly 47% of the refinery’s crude-processing capacity, Reuters reported on June 18.
Secondary processing units, pipelines, auxiliary equipment and storage tanks were also damaged in the second attack.
Industry sources later told Reuters that repairs following the June strikes could take at least six months.
The refinery has historically supplied a significant share of fuel consumed in Moscow and Moscow Oblast, including gasoline and aviation fuel.
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