Triple-Ring Air Defense Didn’t Help: Defense Forces Strike Largest Refinery And Logistics Facility In Moscow Region

21.09.2026, 05:02 uatv.ua

Overnight into September 20, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries. This concerns the “Gazpromneft-Moscow Refinery” in Kapotnya. A logistics facility near Moscow and an enterprise in Voronezh region were also struck. UATV English reports on the details of Ukraine’s long-range sanctions.

This morning in Moscow, it wasn’t fog that blanketed the city, but smoke. The Moscow oil refinery in Kapotnya is burning. Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the enterprise overnight.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, three key units were hit at once: the AVT-6 primary oil processing unit, and complex processing and isomerization units. A large-scale fire broke out on the refinery’s grounds. The enterprise is considered one of the largest in Russia. Its processing capacity is around 12 million tons of oil per year. It produces gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and other petroleum products. The enterprise is directly involved in supplying the Russian army.

“In Moscow region alone, there have already been several hundred strikes this year on specific logistics centers, and very powerful strikes have already hit four oil refineries. Kapotnya is exactly one of them. I know this facility. It’s the central facility for supplying oil and petroleum products to precisely this region. That covers all the logistics, and plants that consume various types of fuel. This is predominantly for the defense sector,” said Colonel General of Ukraine, former head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (2005-2010), Mykola Malomuzh.

Besides the refinery in Kapotnya, a large production-and-warehouse complex called “Sovremennye Skladskie Tekhnologii” in Sofrino near Moscow also caught fire. Six buildings with a total area of nearly 300,000 sq. m. Notably, according to the Astra channel, a “Pantsir” anti-aircraft missile-and-gun system is located just half a kilometer from these warehouses. And all of this is in the Moscow region, the most heavily protected area in terms of air defense assets.

“Moscow is the main hub. It has three rings of defense. In some places, where Putin or especially important facilities are located, there can even be four or five. But right now, as we carry out operations, we’re systematically diverting their air defense systems and striking specific targets,” Mykola Malomuzh noted.

The results of the attack were also confirmed by Ukraine’s president. According to him, facilities that were bringing Russia billions of dollars and fueling its war machine were struck in the Moscow region. An enterprise in Voronezh region was also hit. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that instead of building layered air defense rings around the Russian capital at the expense of the regions, Moscow should end the war it unleashed against Ukraine and choose peace. The head of state said that Ukraine’s Defense Forces used a full range of their own long-range assets to strike the enemy’s strategic facilities.

“Our long-range responses hit very tangibly in the Moscow region tonight. One of Russia’s key oil industry enterprises and an aggressor logistics facility were struck. That’s billions of dollars supporting the war machine. Assets used included FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, “Paliyanytsya,” Vendetta, “Liutyi,” “Bars,” “Flamingo,” “Sichen,” and Pelican,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.

The Ukrainian leader notes that de-escalation proposals already exist, but Moscow continues stalling for time. That’s why strikes on Russian military and strategic facilities continue, and the Kremlin’s tacit arrangement with society — “the war is far away and doesn’t affect ordinary life” — is crumbling.

“The Kremlin will stall for time until a possible meeting between delegations from Ukraine, the US, and Russia, which could take place in October. And in effect, until then, it will keep trying to pursue the aggressive policy it’s currently pursuing, meaning carrying out terrorist attacks on our civilian facilities,” said Armed Forces of Ukraine serviceman and military analyst Oleksandr Musiienko.

In response to Russia’s massed strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, and on civilian and critical infrastructure, Ukraine is responding with long-range sanctions. On September 19, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he had approved new operations and instructed that Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities be expanded. Within 24 hours, the Russian capital saw exactly how these plans would continue to be carried out.

Read also: Zelenskyy Confirms Overnight Strikes On Oil Giant In Moscow Region And Enterprise In Voronezh Region