Moscow Oil Refinery Halts Crude Processing After Sunday’s Drone Strike

Russia’s Moscow Oil Refinery has halted crude processing after Sunday’s Ukrainian drone strike damaged key production units at the facility. Both of the refinery’s primary crude-processing units caught fire following the Sept. 20 attack, and repairs could take several weeks, Reuters reported, citing three industry sources.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The shutdown follows what Russian authorities described as the largest Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow since the start of the full-scale war. As Kyiv Post previously reported, the strike hit the Gazprom Neft-owned refinery in Moscow’s southeastern Kapotnya district, roughly 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Kremlin. Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed hits on the AVT-6 primary crude-processing unit, an integrated oil refining unit and an isomerization unit, with fires reported across the facility. The refinery processes around 11.6 million metric tons of crude annually and supplies roughly 35% to 40% of Moscow’s fuel needs and up to 70% of the gasoline and aviation kerosene consumed across the wider Moscow region. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the strikes on Sunday, saying Ukrainian long-range weapons had targeted facilities directly supporting Russia’s war effort. “In the Moscow region tonight, our long-range responses worked very noticeably,” Zelensky said. “Key oil industry and logistics facilities supporting the aggressor’s war machine were hit. These represent billions of dollars sustaining the war effort.” Other Topics of Interest Ousted Prosecutor General Kravchenko Resigns From Prosecution Service After three days of unexplained absence, Kravchenko’s resignation lets the Prosecutor General’s Office officially dimiss him as a prosecutor. Zelensky said Ukrainian forces used several domestically produced long-range systems during the operation, including FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, Palianytsia, Vendetta, Liutyi, Bars, Flamingo, Sichnevyi and Pelican. Long-range drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) Alpha Special Operations Center traveled more than 500 kilometers to penetrate air defenses around the Russian capital, Kyiv Post previously reported. The attack also struck logistics facilities in the Moscow region, including a warehouse complex in Sofyino in the Ramensky district. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin acknowledged damage to an industrial facility on the refinery grounds. Russian authorities claimed that hundreds of drones were intercepted during the massive overnight attack. The refinery’s AVT-6 unit has a processing capacity of about 21,400 metric tons of crude per day, accounting for 53% of the plant’s total capacity, while the Euro+ complex accounts for the remaining 47%. Fuel produced by the refinery was no longer being offered for sale on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange beginning Monday, Sept. 21. The shutdown comes as Ukraine has intensified long-range strikes on Russian oil refining and logistics infrastructure critical to financing and supplying Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.