MOSCOW, June 16 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone sparked a fire and damaged a facility at Moscow region's largest refinery on Tuesday and oil producer Tatneft announced nationwide fuel purchase caps, signs of the widening impact of Kyiv's campaign to target Russian energy infrastructure.
Seeking to hit a key source of Russia's war funds, Ukraine's attacks on refineries have doubled since the start of 2026, leading to full or partial shutdowns of oil processing and a decline in gasoline, diesel and jet
fuel output, according to official data, social media, and Reuters calculations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Gazprom Neft refinery was hit from a distance of 500 km (311 miles), illustrating the reach of Ukraine's long-range strikes.
"This is a just response to Russian strikes – and to the dragging out of a war that must be ended," he said on X.
Local emergency services said a fire at the refinery had been put out and had not affected operations. Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a facility at the site had been damaged, without giving further details.
The plant, which has been targeted multiple times, processed 11.6 million tons of oil in 2024, producing 2.9 million tons of petrol and 3.2 million tons of diesel, according to the latest available data.
Gazprom Neft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Around a dozen Russian regions have seen some fuel supply disruptions in recent weeks, but central authorities have so far described issues as localised bottlenecks.
Recent long lines for gasoline in Russian-controlled Crimea and the southern Krasnodar region underscore the sensitive domestic fallout from Ukraine's strikes.
On Tuesday, oil producer Tatneft said it was introducing restrictions on fuel purchases at its hundreds of stations across Russia, the first retailer to implement nationwide caps.
A Tatneft station in Serpukhov district, south of Moscow, was limiting sales to 20 litres of gasoline per car or 40 litres of diesel and accepting only cash, according to a Reuters witness.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gleb Bryanski and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Ros Russell)
