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Refinery hit near Moscow
On June 16, a Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at Gazprom Neft’s refinery in southeast Moscow, and two industry sources told Reuters that it had halted operations.
Reuters reported the strike damaged a primary refining facility that accounts for 53% of the plant’s capacity, while a second unit was expected to resume operations soon, according to the same sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
Local emergency services later said the fire had been put out and had not affected operations, but Reuters said that account was contradicted by the industry sources.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a facility at the site had been damaged, without giving further details, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Moscow refinery was hit from a distance of 500 km.
Zelenskiy framed the attack as part of a broader exchange, writing on X, "This is a just response to Russian strikes – and to the dragging out of a war that must be ended," as the refinery processed 11.6 million metric tons of oil in 2024.
Drones, denials, and limits
ABC News said Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that at least 60 Ukrainian drones were shot down and that one drone damaged a facility on the territory of the Moscow Refinery, with "There were no casualties."
In the same ABC News report, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said in a post to Telegram that 86 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the wider Moscow region, with six people injured.
Reuters also reported that local emergency services said the fire was extinguished without affecting operations, but industry sources contradicted that claim while speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Straits Times added that Russian oil producer Tatneft announced nationwide caps on purchases at its fuel stations after an attack on its refinery in Tatarstan last week, and Reuters described a Tatneft station in the Serpukhov district limiting sales to 20 litres of gasoline per car or 40 litres of diesel and accepting only cash.
The pressure extended beyond the refinery itself, with Reuters describing long lines of motorists in Russian-controlled Crimea, the southern Krasnodar region, and elsewhere as fuel restrictions were imposed to try to preserve stocks.
Fuel pressure and war funds
The Straits Times reported that Ukraine’s attacks on refineries have doubled since the start of 2026, leading to full or partial shutdowns of oil processing and a decline in gasoline, diesel and jet fuel output, according to official data, social media, and Reuters calculations.
It said the strategy is increasingly straining Russia’s domestic fuel market, with localized supply issues reported across multiple regions, and the energy ministry sought to reassure farmers that enough fuel would be available for the critical summer season.
In parallel, the same report said Tatneft’s nationwide purchase caps followed a June 12 drone attack on its TANECO oil refinery in Tatarstan, and Reuters described shortages in the Russian-controlled region of Donetsk where some gas stations had no fuel and drivers queued for up to three hours.
El País reported that the refinery is located about 15 kilometers southeast of Moscow and that the attack reached fuel depots in the southern Krasnodar region, with authorities cutting traffic on an important road in the region.
Zelenskiy’s framing of the strike as pressure on Russia’s war effort was echoed in El País, which quoted him saying, "it is necessary to force Russia to end its war against our people," while the refinery’s output and Moscow’s fuel needs were described as central to the impact.
