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Moscow Refinery Processing 11.6 Million Tons of Oil Shuts Down After Ukrainian Drone Attack

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Cyril Barabaltchouk
News Writer
A view shows the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery on the south-eastern outskirts of Moscow. (Source: Getty Images)
A view shows the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery on the south-eastern outskirts of Moscow. (Source: Getty Images)

Russia’s Moscow oil refinery has temporarily halted production following a Ukrainian drone strike on May 17, according to a Reuters report citing industry sources.

Operations at the Gazpromneft-owned facility in southeastern Moscow were suspended protectively to mitigate further risks, despite the strike reportedly causing minimal structural damage to the plant.

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Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity to Reuters indicated that restarting the processing units is expected to take several days. The refinery plays a crucial role in supplying fuel to the Russian capital.

Satellite imagery of the Gazpromneft oil refinery in Moscow. OSINT channel Exilenova+ notes that the entire facility was covered in anti-drone nets before Ukrainian drone strikes (Source: Exilenova+)
Satellite imagery of the Gazpromneft oil refinery in Moscow. OSINT channel Exilenova+ notes that the entire facility was covered in anti-drone nets before Ukrainian drone strikes (Source: Exilenova+)

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed the incident, stating that a drone crashed near the facility. According to preliminary data provided by the mayor, 12 people were injured in the strike, primarily construction workers situated near the plant’s entrance gate, Reuters wrote.

Sobyanin emphasized that the refinery’s core processing technology remains intact. Gazpromneft has not replied to Reuters’ requests for comment regarding the attack or the operational halt.

The temporary shutdown affects one of the region’s most significant energy-production assets. According to industry data, the refinery processed 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil in 2024, yielding 2.9 million metric tons of gasoline, 3.2 million metric tons of diesel, and 1.3 million metric tons of bitumen.

The suspension at the Moscow facility coincides with another major strike on Russian energy infrastructure this week. Ukrainian drones have recently struck the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, an attack later confirmed by Ukraine’s General Staff.

Open-source analysts reported the strike targeted a primary oil refining unit, triggering a fire at the site. The Kstovo plant is Russia’s fourth-largest refinery, accounting for roughly 5 percent of the country’s total crude processing capacity.

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