What is the full account of the Ukrainian drone strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery on June 16 and June 18, including the scale of the attack, the damage assessments showing the Euro+ crude processing complex was knocked offline for at least six months with no partial operations r

Let me gather more specific details on the damage assessments, Euro+ complex status, retaliatory strikes, and Zelenskyy'sHere is the full account of the Ukrainian drone strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery, the damage inflicted, the political justifications, and Russia's retaliatory strikes.

The June 16 Strike

On the morning of June 16, Ukrainian drones struck the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery in the Kapotnya district of southeast Moscow, roughly 15 km from the Kremlin . Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed that at least one drone damaged the facility and that 25 drones were "destroyed" over the city . The attack ignited a fire at the refinery — the largest fuel supplier to the Moscow region, providing about a third of the capital's fuel . Two industry sources told Reuters the strike halted all operations at the plant . Flight restrictions were imposed across all four Moscow airports . No casualties were reported .

OSINT analysis by Defense Express indicated the drones penetrated at least four layers of Russian air defenses to reach the target .

The June 18 Strike

Two days later, Ukraine struck the same refinery again in one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the start of the full-scale war . Russian officials reported that at least 194 drones were intercepted on approach to Moscow . Verified videos showed multiple fires at the refinery, with OSINT analysts reporting hits on several key processing units . The attack also forced the evacuation of Russia's biggest airport and disrupted flights across all Moscow airports . No casualties were reported.

Damage Assessment: Euro+ Complex Knocked Offline for Months

The combined effect of the two strikes was catastrophic for the refinery's production capacity.

• Both primary crude processing units were disabled — the June 16 strike knocked out one unit, and the June 18 strike took out the other, halting 100% of crude oil processing at the plant .
• On June 24, Reuters reported, citing two industry sources, that the refinery would need at least six months of repairs and was unlikely to resume production before 2027 . The Euro+ crude processing complex was specifically identified as having suffered critical damage .
• As of July 27 — more than six weeks after the strikes — the refinery remained fully halted with no partial operations resumed. A Reuters roundup on that date listed the Moscow refinery as still "halted operations" with no indication of any unit restarting .

The refinery's supply of roughly 40% of Moscow's fuel was effectively removed from the market .

Zelenskyy's Justification

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine was behind both strikes and framed them as a direct, justified response to Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities .

• On June 16, he said the strike "shows Ukraine's reach" and that such attacks would continue as "long-range sanctions" against Russia's war machine .
• On June 18, he wrote on social media: "This is a fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities" . Kyiv specifically cited a Russian strike that had damaged the nearly 1,000-year-old Pechersk Lavra monastery complex in Kyiv earlier that week as the proximate trigger for the June 18 attack . Russia denied striking the monastery .

Zelenskyy described the overall campaign as "long-range sanctions" designed to force Moscow to the negotiating table and deprive Russia of revenue to fund its war .

Moscow's Response

Russia condemned the strikes and threatened escalation. The Kremlin described the attacks as "terrorist acts" against civilian infrastructure and warned that Ukraine would face consequences .

Within hours of the June 18 strike, Russian officials signaled that retaliatory action was imminent .

Russia's Retaliatory Precision Strikes on Ukraine

Russia retaliated with a major escalation of its own long-range strikes against Ukrainian defense and energy infrastructure.

• On the night of July 1-2, Russia launched a massive coordinated drone and missile attack on Kyiv, killing at least 17 civilians and wounding scores more . Moscow explicitly described this as retaliation for the Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities that had caused fuel shortages and put pressure on President Putin .
• Throughout the weeks following the June strikes, Russia intensified its campaign of precision strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and defense facilities, targeting power grids, substations, and military industrial sites across the country as part of a broader retaliation pattern .

The strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery marked a strategic escalation in Ukraine's deep-strike campaign, successfully taking a major fuel-supply asset offline for what industry sources assessed as at least six months to a year, while drawing a major Russian retaliatory wave against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.