Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow Refinery (MNPZ) in the southeastern district of Kapotnya overnight into June 18. “Several drones managed to reach MNPZ. Measures are being taken to deal with the consequences,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his Telegram channel.
The Telegram channels Astra and Exilenova+ have published photos and footage of a major fire that broke out on the refinery grounds. Astra counted at least five separate fire hotspots. The Ukrainian OSINT project KiberBoroshno reports that strikes were recorded on the Moscow Refinery’s tank farm, the G-43-107 catalytic cracking unit, the visbreaking unit area, and a facility producing methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and oligomerate.
The Moscow Refinery had already been attacked overnight into June 16. According to Reuters sources, that strike hit the refinery’s main crude distillation unit, which accounts for 53% of the plant’s processing capacity. Following the attack, the refinery suspended operations. The facility was also targeted in an earlier drone attack in May.
The Kapotnya refinery has a processing capacity of 11 million metric tons of crude oil per year, covering about 40% of Moscow’s fuel needs and 70% of the Moscow Region’s demand for gasoline and jet fuel.
