Second drone strike hits Moscow refinery, cause oil rain - VIDEO

A major Russian oil refinery in Moscow has been hit by a second drone strike in just two days, knocking out critical processing units and triggering multiple fires across the facility.

The latest strike targeted Gazpromneft’s southeastern Moscow refinery, a crucial facility responsible for supplying fuel to Russia’s capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed the large-scale drone raid on Thursday, noting that multiple drones struck the site. The facility had already been forced to shut down following an initial drone attack on June 16, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

According to industry sources, Thursday's strike inflicted heavy damage on the plant’s high-tech "Euro+" combined oil refining unit. Commissioned in 2020 as a cornerstone of the plant's modernization, the Euro+ unit handles roughly 47% of the refinery's total capacity, processing about 140,000 barrels per day. The explosions also damaged several secondary units, pipelines, and storage tanks, which subsequently caught fire.

The timing is a massive blow to the facility's operations. The refinery was already undergoing emergency repairs from Tuesday's attack, which had knocked out its other primary crude distillation unit (CDU-6), responsible for 53% of its capacity. Plant managers had planned to restart the Euro+ unit midweek to keep the refinery running at half-capacity while fixing the initial damage.

With both major processing systems now compromised, the refinery's output is severely threatened. The facility is a massive player in the region's energy infrastructure; in 2024 alone, it processed 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil, churning out millions of tons of gasoline, diesel, and bitumen for the capital.

Gazpromneft has not yet responded to requests for comment on the extent of the damage or a timeline for potential repairs.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada