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Ukraine hits Moscow energy and logistics sites in a large-scale drone and missile attack
In the early hours of September 20, Ukraine’s Defense Forces launched a large-scale drone and missile strike on Moscow and the surrounding region. President Volodymyr Zelensky said a key oil industry facility and a logistics site were hit in the Moscow area, while Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed a strike on the Gazpromneft Moscow Oil Refinery (MOR) in the Kapotnya district of the Russian capital.
“In the Moscow region, our long-range retaliatory strikes were very effective tonight. One of Russia’s key oil industry sites and an aggressor logistics facility were hit. That’s billions of dollars supporting the war machine,” Zelensky wrote, adding that the attack involved FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, Palyanytsia, Vendetta, Liutyi, Bars, Flamingo, Sichen, and Pelican models.
Zelensky noted that Ukraine’s Security Service, Unmanned Systems Forces, Special Operations Forces, the Main Directorate of Intelligence, and the Foreign Intelligence Service took part in the operation.
“Moscow should not be building layered air defense rings at the expense of other regions, but should end its brutal war and choose peace. De-escalation steps are on the table: in energy, in food security. Political will is needed. Thanks to all who extend Ukraine’s reach. Grateful to everyone reinforcing our long-range response with sanctions,” Zelensky wrote.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the raid the largest drone attack on Moscow to date. He claimed that, since September 19, Russian forces had shot down more than 1,600 drones, about 450 of them near the capital, though there is no independent confirmation of these numbers.
Sobyanin acknowledged that several drones reached the grounds of the Moscow oil refinery and one struck a residential building. According to the mayor, there were no deaths reported in Moscow.
“The unprecedented attack was clearly planned to disrupt the elections,” Sobyanin said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that overnight, it intercepted and destroyed a total of 1,110 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, occupied Crimea, and the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported that the strike caused a large fire at the MOR, which is capable of processing about 12 million tons of oil annually; damage included the AVT-6 primary processing unit, an integrated oil processing installation, and an isomerization unit.
The General Staff said the MOR, which is owned by Gazpromneft, processes crude oil and produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, heavy fuel oil, and other petroleum products; it also supplies the Russian military.
“Strikes on such facilities of the Russian aggressor constitute Ukraine’s inalienable right to self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN Charter and aim to reduce the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation,” the General Staff said in a statement.
A Reuters correspondent observed explosions and smoke rising above the refinery. At that time, the extent of the damage remained unclear.
The Ukrainian OSINT channel Absoliutno nadiine dzherelo reported that the Kapotnya facility’s primary oil processing complex, a integrated oil processing installation with a total capacity of up to 12 million tons a year, and a high-quality gasoline production unit were all hit.
The OSINT channel KiberBoroshno reported that the attack likely damaged both primary processing lines at the refinery, situated 18 kilometers from the Kremlin and protected by several layers of air defenses.
“That’s the entire initial processing capacity of the plant. If both lines are down, it doesn’t just reduce output—it halts operations entirely,” KiberBoroshno said.
Roads around the refinery were closed, and social media users posted footage of the aftermath, advising each other to urgently refuel their vehicles out of concern that gas stations would run dry by evening.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said they, working with other Defense Forces components, successfully struck the Moscow MOR, part of Gazprom Neft and a crucial component of the Russian capital’s fuel infrastructure, calling it the third strike on the facility.
The Insider calculated that this was at least the fourth attack on the Moscow refinery since mid-May. Following a May 17 strike, the plant temporarily shut down; on June 16, its primary processing unit—responsible for 53% of its capacity—was hit, and several key facilities were damaged in a June 18 attack.
Reuters sources reported after the June attacks that repairing the refinery could take at least six months.
In 2024, the plant processed 11.6 million tons of oil, produced 2.9 million tons of gasoline, and 3.2 million tons of diesel.
According to InfoResist, the MOR supplies about 40% of Moscow’s fuel market and 70% of Moscow region’s needs for gasoline and aviation kerosene. Focus reported that Gazpromneft MOR covered 40–50% of Moscow and Moscow region’s demand for gasoline and diesel, and also supplied fuel to the city’s airports.
That same night, according to Astra, the TPP-22 power plant in Dzerzhinsky, Moscow region—about two kilometers from the refinery—was also attacked.
TPP-22 is directly linked to the refinery’s operations by supplying technological steam. According to Mosenergo, TPP-22 has an installed electric capacity of 1,365 MW and thermal capacity of 3,648.5 Gcal/h.
Other reports put the electric capacity of the N. I. Serebryanikov TPP-22 at 1,375 MW. The plant supplies electricity and heat to southeast Moscow, Dzerzhinsky, and part or all of the Lyubertsy district. As of the time of reporting, Russian authorities had not commented publicly on the attack on TPP-22.
Another target of the night’s attacks was a large warehouse complex in Sofyino, in the Ramensky district of Moscow region, where a fire broke out.
Astra reported that this was the Modern Warehouse Technologies LLC complex, comprising six buildings with a total area of about 290,000 square meters. The company leases and sells warehouse space.
A Russian Pantsir air defense missile and gun system is positioned just 500 meters from the warehouse complex.
Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said that between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m., Russian air defense and electronic warfare forces shot down and jammed 249 drones across 17 districts of the region. The attacks killed two people and injured six.
The strikes were recorded in Ramensky, Sofyino, Orekhovo-Zuyevo district, Leninsky, Noviye Kotelniki, Kolomna, Yegoryevsk, Lyubertsy, Lytkarino, Istra, and Voskresensk.
In Orekhovo-Zuyevo district, a drone crashed into a private house, killing a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man.
In Ramensky, after a drone hit, the roof of a 21-story residential building on Severnoe Highway caught fire. Four hundred people, including 70 children, were evacuated, and 20 cars were damaged.
Another drone struck a three-story building in Sofyino, and in Kotelniki, apartments on three floors caught fire after a drone hit.
Apartment buildings were damaged in Ramensky, Noviye Kotelniki, Leninsky, Lyubertsy, and Lytkarino, while private homes were affected in Ramensky, Kolomna, and Yegoryevsk.
In Moscow, apart from the refinery, a drone struck a building in the Orekhovsky Boulevard area.
The attacks led to flight restrictions at Moscow’s airports, affecting Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, Sheremetyevo, and Vnukovo. More than 100 flights were canceled or delayed, and over 30 aircraft were unable to land in Moscow.
At Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo, authorities implemented the emergency “Cover” plan, suspending takeoffs and landings. Aircraft bound for Moscow had to divert or return to alternate airports.
At Sheremetyevo alone, 50 flights were canceled and about 200 delayed by four hours or more, leaving terminals crowded with passengers.
The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ published photos of fragments—reportedly from an FP-5 Flamingo missile.
The channel Oko hora suggested the missile may have been shot down 20 to 25 kilometers from central Moscow.
That morning, Russian social media channels also posted pictures of debris said to be from an FP-5 Flamingo missile found 20 to 25 kilometers from Moscow’s center.
Zelensky’s mention of Pelican missles sparked speculation about the possible use of Ukraine’s FP-7 Pelican ballistic missile, but there is no concrete confirmation it was involved.
In the spring, it emerged that Fire Point had reserved the names Pelican and Peace Dove for new Ukrainian strike systems. Previous reports indicated the FP-7 had a range of 300–400 kilometers and, using a ballistic trajectory, gave air defenses minimal time to intercept.
Other systems with the name Pelikan include a remote-controlled reconnaissance drone from Turkish Aerospace Industries, though there were no reports of this type in Ukrainian service, and the drone itself is generally considered an obsolete version of the TAI Baykuş tactical UAV.
Volunteer Serhiy Sternenko questioned whether the attack involved the FP-7 Pelican ballistic missile.
“In fact, if we’re talking about the Pelican missile, which is the FP-7, its declared range is up to 350 km. Moscow is about 500 km away. Maybe there’s another device called Pelican. We’ll wait for details,” Sternenko noted.
