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Oil Drops Fall on Russian Capital After Drone Strikes Target Strategic Refinery
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Residents in several districts of Moscow reported a black, oily substance coating cars and streets following overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on a major oil refinery in Kapotnya.
The facility, located in the southeastern part of the capital, caught fire after long-range unmanned aerial vehicles penetrated local air defenses, according to Ukrainska Pravda on June 18.
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The incident marks the second successful strike against a strategic target in the region within a three-day period, disrupting operations at a facility that supplies a significant portion of the fuel consumed in Moscow and the surrounding Moscow region.
The oily precipitation was widely reported in the suburb of Lyubertsy and the Zheleznodorozhny district of Moscow, where local communities shared photos and videos of dark stains left behind by the rain. Many residents expressed frustration in online community chats and social channels, noting that authorities had issued no advance public warnings regarding a major aerial attack.
The operation follows a massive Russian combined missile and drone assault on Kyiv on June 15, during which a Shahed drone struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The resulting blaze burned through an area of 800 square meters on the roof of the landmark Assumption Cathedral. Following an inspection of the damage at the historical complex, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that there would be a response to the attack.
On June 18, 2026, Moscow and the surrounding region came under a large-scale drone attack as dozens of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles targeted the area during the early hours.
According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, several of the drones managed to penetrate defenses and reach the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district, located approximately 15 kilometers southeast of the Kremlin.
Local Russian air defense forces later claimed to have intercepted and destroyed 992 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over a 24-hour period, while local Telegram channels reported at least five separate fire hotspots at the strategic refining facility.
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