Ukraine drones hit Moscow refinery again

Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow Oil Refinery in the southeastern Kapotnya district in the early hours of June 18, 2026, in what Russian authorities described as a large-scale attack on the capital region. Officials said it was the second time within a week that this refinery had been hit. Visual evidence from the area showed flames and thick black smoke rising from the facility, with explosions reported over the complex.

Images from the scene showed significant fires burning at the refinery, located about 15 kilometers from central Moscow. Large plumes of dark smoke were visible over the city, and emergency crews were reported working at the site to contain the damage. Traffic was halted on parts of Moscow’s ring road near the refinery as response teams operated in the vicinity.

Russian officials characterized the operation as one of the largest Ukrainian drone offensives against Moscow since the full-scale invasion began. The Defense Ministry stated that air defenses shot down 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions overnight. Moscow’s mayor said air defense forces were repelling a large-scale attack and reported that about 180–194 drones bound for the capital had been intercepted.

Despite these interception claims, local authorities acknowledged that several drones managed to reach targets in and around Moscow. In addition to the damage at the Moscow Oil Refinery, officials reported impacts on other sites, including a high-rise residential building, an industrial facility, a number of private houses, and a shopping center that suffered minor damage.

The drone barrage led to significant but temporary disruption of air traffic around Moscow. Major airports including Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky suspended or restricted flights during the attack. At Sheremetyevo, described as the city’s busiest airport, operations were halted and passengers were evacuated to designated safe locations.

Within the city, authorities closed sections of transport routes and responded to damage at civilian sites. Traffic on the ring road near the refinery was stopped while emergency services dealt with fires and assessed structural risks. Reports from the region also noted damage to residential and commercial buildings, adding to the broader impact of the overnight strike.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly confirmed that Ukrainian forces targeted and hit the Moscow Oil Refinery in Kapotnya. He described the operation as a fully justified response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and communities. His statement placed the refinery strike within a wider pattern of Ukrainian long-range drone operations against Russian energy and infrastructure targets.

The June 18 attack, coming just days after an earlier strike on the same facility, highlighted the vulnerability of key Russian energy assets near the capital. It also underscored the growing role of drones in the conflict, with both the reported scale of the assault and the resulting aviation and infrastructure disruptions drawing attention to the evolving dynamics of the war.