Ukrainian drone strike targets Volodarsk oil depot in 650-drone raid on Moscow region

Scale of the overnight drone raid

Ukrainian forces launched a widespread assault of uncrewed aerial vehicles toward the Russian capital and surrounding oblast during an eight-and-a-half-hour overnight operation. The barrage began at approximately 20:30 on Monday evening, 5 October, and continued until 05:00 on Tuesday morning, 6 October 2026. Russian state media identified the incident as the largest drone assault on the Moscow region in the last two years. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 650 drones flew toward the capital area throughout the night, with Russian air defense forces intercepting the majority at long distances. Regional air defense units engaged targets across outlying sectors before official statements confirmed that 105 aircraft were destroyed during their direct approach to the city.

Between 20:30 on 5 October and 5:00 on 6 October, 650 uncrewed aerial vehicles flew over the Moscow region.

Casualties and airspace shutdown

The assault resulted in human casualties and extensive civil disruption across Moscow Oblast. Regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed on Tuesday morning that the drone strikes and falling fragments killed one person and injured six others. The uncrewed aircraft entered the airspace from several directions across multiple waves, triggering air defense mobilizations throughout the metropolitan area. Russian aviation authorities closed all four primary airports serving Moscow (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky), halting incoming and outgoing flights during the raid. Ground response units were deployed to locations where drone wreckage fell to extinguish blazes and assess structural damage.

Specialists from emergency services are working at the debris crash sites.

Strike on the Volodarsk oil depot

Several drones struck the Volodarsk Linear Production and Dispatch Center near the village of Konstantinovo in Moscow Oblast. The facility is situated approximately 40 kilometers southeast of central Moscow and around 450 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Local monitoring channels, including Exilenova Plus, and eyewitness accounts documented large fires erupting on site, with thick columns of smoke rising into the morning sky. The installation, known as the Volodarskaya oil depot, is the largest petroleum product storage and dispatch complex in the Moscow region and operates as a subsidiary unit of AK Transnefteproduct.

Role of the facility in regional supply

The Volodarsk depot operates as a central logistical junction for refined fuel distribution throughout the Moscow metropolitan area, handling an annual trade volume of 3 million tons of petroleum products. The complex is engineered to store and transport motor gasoline, diesel fuel, and aviation kerosene, receiving products from refineries located in both Moscow and Ryazan. A dedicated branch network of product pipelines links the Volodarsk terminal directly to three of the capital's busiest transport hubs: Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Vnukovo airports. The strike aligns with Ukrainian efforts targeting Russian oil infrastructure and energy export assets.