Reuters: Ukrainian drone attack halts oil processing at Moscow refinery on final day of Russia’s State Duma election. Repairs could take weeks.

The Moscow oil refinery in Kapotnya has stopped processing crude because of a Ukrainian drone attack on September 20, the last and main day of voting in Russia’s State Duma elections, three industry sources told Reuters.Both of the refinery’s primary crude distillation units caught fire in the attack, the sources said. Repairs could take several weeks.Reuters also noted that fuel from the Moscow refinery hasn’t been offered for sale on the St. Petersburg Exchange since September 21.On September 20, Ukraine launched its largest attack on Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. More than 1,600 drones were shot down “on all approaches,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. A fire broke out at the Moscow refinery, but it was unclear how much damage the plant had sustained.The refinery was also damaged during the previous largest attack on Moscow, in June 2026. Reuters’ sources said then, too, that the plant had stopped operating. However, it restarted sooner than the agency had predicted.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.