On the night of 20 September, a drone attack sparked a fire at the Moscow Oil Refinery, Gazpromneft-MNPZ.
This is indicated by an OSINT analysis of eyewitness footage carried out by ASTRA. At the same time, the Russian authorities reported an attack on one of the company’s facilities and hundreds of UAVs shot down.
Overnight, residents of Moscow and the Moscow Region reported numerous explosions. The Russian governor said at least two people were killed and six others were injured.
As ASTRA notes, analysis of videos and photographs taken by eyewitnesses suggests that one of the targets was the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district.
The Mayor of Moscow had earlier confirmed an attack on one of the refinery’s facilities. He said no one was hurt at the scene. According to Sobyanin, “the most massive attack by enemy drones has been repelled”. Since yesterday, Russia’s air defences have supposedly shot down more than 1,600 UAVs, including 450 on approach to Moscow.
The Moscow Oil Refinery is one of Russia’s largest oil-processing enterprises. Its capacity is about 11 million tonnes of oil per year.
The plant supplies around 40% of Moscow’s fuel market and about 70% of the Moscow Region’s needs for petrol and aviation kerosene, ASTRA says.
- On 18 June, Ukraine’s Defence Forces struck an integrated oil-processing unit and storage tanks on the territory of the Moscow Oil Refinery. The company then halted oil processing for an indefinite period.