On the morning of June 16, Ukrainian drones launched a massive attack on Moscow. The target was the Moscow Oil Refinery, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
According to Sobyanin, one of the drones damaged a facility on the refinery’s premises. No casualties were reported.
Moscow’s Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that the attack caused a fire at the refinery.
“There is no threat of the fire spreading. The situation is under control of the emergency services,” the agency said.
According to Sobyanin, a total of 60 drones attacked Moscow within a two-hour period.
The Moscow Oil Refinery is located in the Kapotnya district and is owned by Gazprom Neft. The facility has a nominal processing capacity of about 14 million tonnes of oil per year. It supplies roughly 40% of Moscow’s fuel market and covers 70% of the Moscow region’s demand for gasoline and aviation fuel.
The refinery was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones on May 17. During that attack, 12 members of a construction crew were injured.
Against the backdrop of regular Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, Russia’s oil refining volumes have fallen below 4 million barrels per day, reaching their lowest level in 21 years, according to estimates by Energy Intelligence analysts. By their calculations, nearly one-third of the country’s refining capacity — about 2.14 million barrels per day — is currently offline.
At the same time, fuel shortages are intensifying across Russia, affecting more than 25 regions. Restrictions on gasoline sales have begun to appear even in major cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery located 500 kilometers away, in the Moscow region.
“This time, Ukraine’s long-range capabilities were felt in the Moscow region. An oil refinery located 500 kilometers away was hit. I thank the warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, and the Missile Forces for their effective work,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Tuesday morning.
He emphasized that “Russia must be compelled to end the war against our people.”
“And Ukraine’s long-range weapons are one of the important components of such pressure. This is a just response to Russian strikes and a response to the prolongation of the war, which must be brought to an end,” the president said.
