Moscow oil refinery damaged during large-scale overnight attack

Overnight, a large-scale drone attack targeted Moscow and its surrounding area, resulting in a significant fire at the Moscow oil refinery in the city's Kapotnya district. Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported the incident and shared footage of the blaze on September 20. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that a facility within the refinery had been damaged, emphasizing that there were no casualties and that emergency services were attending to the scene.

Sobyanin later announced that a drone had also struck a building near Orekhovy Boulevard in southern Moscow.

Footage from the scene, captured by monitoring channels, showcased a major fire and dense smoke billowing from the Kapotnya refinery. Reuters quoted Russian officials and the on-site footage, reporting that drones had indeed struck the refinery. However, the full extent of the damage remained unclear initially. Sobyanin subsequently claimed that Russian air defenses had neutralized 152 drones targeting Moscow, though this figure could not be independently verified.

The Moscow refinery, managed by Gazprom Neft, is one of Russia's largest oil-processing facilities, serving as a critical supplier of fuel to Moscow and the surrounding region. In 2024, the plant processed approximately 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil. The refinery has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones in recent months.

A Ukrainian drone strike on June 16 damaged the CDU-6 primary crude-processing unit, accounting for around 53% of the refinery's capacity, according to Reuters, which cited industry sources. This disruption forced the refinery to cease operations temporarily. Two days later, on June 18, the facility faced another drone attack that damaged the Euro+ processing unit, which had a capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day and made up roughly 47% of the refinery's crude-processing capacity, as reported by Reuters on June 18.

The second attack also caused damage to secondary processing units, pipelines, auxiliary equipment, and storage tanks. Industry sources later informed Reuters that repairs following the June strikes might take at least six months to complete.

Historically, the refinery has supplied a substantial portion of the fuel consumed in Moscow and Moscow Oblast, including gasoline and aviation fuel.