In Moscow, an oil refinery near Sheremetyevo Airport caught fire after a drone attack: details
Explosions were heard in Moscow and the Moscow region on October 31, and a fire broke out near Sheremetyevo Airport after a drone attack. The downed drone is believed to have fallen 2 kilometers from the airport, near a Rosneft oil depot, and satellite images released by the Telegram channel DroneBomber suggest the fire may have engulfed an oil refinery.
This is reported by OSINT analysts Exilenova+ .
On Saturday, October 31, a series of explosions were heard in Moscow and the region. Prior to this, an air alert was declared in the region and the operation of Sheremetyevo Airport was temporarily suspended.
According to OSINT analysts, the likely downed drone fell about 2 kilometers from the airport. Journalists have released photos and video of a fire near the airport.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that Russian air defenses allegedly shot down 11 drones heading towards the capital.
At the same time, journalists , citing satellite images, report a fire at the L-35-11/1000 catalytic reforming unit. It is used to process gasoline and increase its octane number to 93–98.
The technological complex includes hydrotreating, reforming and isomerization units. Its design capacity is 1 million tons of raw material per year, and one of the by-products is hydrogen-containing gas.
At the same time, it is currently unclear whether the facility was the target of an attack or whether the drone fell on it after Russian air defenses.
The day before, on the night of October 30, a massive drone attack caused large-scale disruptions to Moscow airports, with at least 223 flights canceled and another 233 delayed.
Restrictions on aircraft arrivals and departures were introduced at 22:52. The airports remained closed for almost 9 hours. At 08:09, Rosaviatsia reported the lifting of restrictions at Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo, while Vnukovo and Domodedovo continued to operate under separate agreement.
The largest number of flights were canceled at Sheremetyevo — 170. 48 flights were canceled at Vnukovo, 4 at Domodedovo, and 1 at Zhukovsky. The largest number of delays was recorded at Vnukovo, where 111 flights were postponed.
Due to the restrictions, some planes were redirected to alternate airfields. In particular, St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport received 27 flights, after which large queues formed there.
According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, 862 drones were launched towards the Moscow region from the evening of October 29 to the morning of October 30, most of which, he said, were destroyed on the outskirts of the capital. The attack occurred after the Russia-Africa summit, which was held on October 28-29 with the participation of Vladimir Putin.
By the way, drones attacked the Russian city of Ufa in Bashkortostan on the night of Saturday, October 31 – a fire broke out at the Bashneft-Novoil oil refinery, probably a catalytic reforming unit was on fire.
We will remind you that on October 24, after a massive attack by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on Moscow , more than 210 flights were delayed or canceled at the airports of the Russian capital.
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