Ukraine struck two strategic targets in the Moscow region this Sunday with a massive long-range drone attack: the Kapotnia oil refinery and the Sofyino logistics complex.
The Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski confirmed the operation on his X account, describing the impact as "very significant" and noting that the systems used included the FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, Palianytsia, Vendetta, Liutyi, Bars, Flamingo, Sichen, and Pelican drones and missiles.
"Our long-range responses had a very significant impact in the Moscow region last night. A key facility of Russia's oil industry and the aggressor's logistics facility were hit. These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine," wrote the Ukrainian leader.
The Kapotnia refinery, owned by Gazpromneft, is one of the most important in the country: it processes around 11 million tons of oil annually and supplies approximately 40% of the gasoline and half of the diesel consumed in Moscow. Former Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko specified on X that a storage complex in Sofyino, in the Ramensky district, was also hit.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov, confirmed at least two deaths and six injuries in the nighttime attack. Among the victims was a 44-year-old woman who died in Sofyino after a drone struck a three-story residential building, with five additional injuries, including two minors. The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, acknowledged damage at the refinery but stated that there were no casualties within the plant.
The attack occurred on the third and final day of the Russian legislative elections for the State Duma, held from September 18 to 20, adding a symbolic dimension to the timing of the operation executed by Kiev.
The responsible units were the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, and the Foreign Intelligence Service. Zelensky also announced that "sanctions" were imposed on a facility in the Voronezh region.
The attack comes just a week after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly requested Zelenski to cease attacks on Russian refineries, arguing that they were causing fuel shortages and "harming the world."
Trump claimed that both countries had agreed not to target each other's energy infrastructures, but Zelensky denied the existence of such a formal agreement. Sunday's attack demonstrates that Kyiv disregards that restriction.
It is not the first time that Kapotnia has been targeted by Ukrainian unmanned aviation. The refinery has already been hit in June 2026, when the Kyiv Independent reported that it was unlikely to resume operations this year. By mid-September, Reuters reported that half of Russia's top diesel-producing refineries had cut back on production following successive Ukrainian drone attacks.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed in September 2026 that this extensive Ukrainian campaign is damaging the Russian economy and degrading its military capabilities, with multiple refineries hit in the weeks prior.
Meanwhile, Russia has maintained its own campaign of attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The UN documented at least 423 Russian attacks on Ukraine's electrical facilities between October 2025 and March 2026, and bombings continued in September with nine deaths on the 12th and power outages affecting more than 350,000 households in Odesa.
Zelenski concluded his message with a direct warning to Moscow: "Russia must end its brutal war and choose peace instead of building air defense rings at the expense of other regions. Steps toward de-escalation are on the table, in terms of energy and food security. What is needed is political will."
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