Ukraine hits 'heart' of Moscow refinery, cause 'oil rain': Details
Photo: The aftermath of the strike on the oil refinery in Kapotnya, Russia (t.me/exilenova_plus)
During an attack on an oil refinery in Moscow, drones struck a facility considered the key node of the entire plant. And that was not the only result of the strike, according to OSINT analysts and Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).
Where the fires broke out
According to OSINT analysts, fires erupted in at least two areas of the refinery during the attack.
- At least four fire hot spots were recorded in the storage tank area.
- Two additional fires broke out near the refinery’s oil-processing unit.
The refinery’s main oil refining unit is not a single facility but a large integrated structure. It includes the AVT primary distillation unit.
Earlier, during a strike on Tuesday, the AVT-6 primary crude oil distillation unit was damaged. Experts describe this unit as the refinery’s "heart" because it accounts for approximately half of the Moscow refinery’s total capacity.
Photo: A view of the damaged oil refinery in Moscow from space (t.me)
Reuters later confirmed, citing its own sources, that this specific unit had been hit.
"Preliminary information indicates that Ukrainian drone strikes targeted the storage tank farm, the AVT unit (which performs primary crude oil processing), and the diesel fuel hydrotreating unit," the SBU also confirmed.
Social media users are already complaining that an "oil rain" has fallen in Moscow.
An "oil rain" has fallen in Moscow after a Ukrainian drone strike on the refinery pic.twitter.com/QjcVP6bSK2
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) June 18, 2026
The plant was shut down, but there’s a catch
Following the strike, refinery operations were fully suspended.
However, Reuters sources reported that a second primary processing unit is expected to resume operations in the near future.
June 18 drone attack on Moscow
On June 18, Moscow and the region experienced one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks of the year.
Due to the aerial threat, authorities temporarily suspended operations at four Moscow airports, while the Moscow refinery in Kapotnya was once again engulfed in flames.
Following the attack, shares of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies fell sharply. Shares of Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil plummeted in value.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine’s Defense Forces had struck the Moscow refinery for the second time in a week. According to him, the attack was a just response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and a signal that Russia should take steps toward ending the war.
Ukraine’s General Staff released a full list of targets hit that same night. In addition to the refinery, the targets included an oil depot in Russia’s Rostov region, bridges in Crimea and the Donetsk region, and a Russian military command post. The consequences of previous strikes on oil facilities in three other regions of Russia have also been confirmed.
Zelenskyy further urged Russian citizens to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin if they do not want the war to continue. He stressed that Ukraine did not seek the war, but that Russia would also face the consequences of its own aggression.
