Vladimir Putin has reportedly redeployed one of Russia’s air defence systems from the front line to Moscow after a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeted sites inside Russia.
The Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and gun system has been positioned on a tower only a few hundred metres from the Kapotnya oil refinery in the Russian capital.
Kyiv has intensified its long-range drone campaign in recent months, with Russian oil refineries among the key targets as Ukraine seeks to disrupt revenues supporting Moscow’s war effort.
Analysts say Russia’s ageing air defence network, originally built to counter manned aircraft and conventional missiles, has had difficulty responding effectively to Ukraine’s expanding drone capabilities.
According to The Telegraph, the cabin of the newly positioned Pantsir system is covered by a metal cage, a modification more commonly seen on equipment deployed near the front line to protect against short-range attack drones.
Ukrainian defence specialists believe that detail indicates the launcher may have been transferred from the combat zone inside Ukraine.
Images circulating online also appear to show the system carrying only two of the usual six launch missiles on one side, raising questions about a possible shortage of interceptors.
Ukraine’s top commander, Robert Brovdi, has said Moscow is protected by more than 100 air-defence launchers and around 50 Pantsir mobile air-defence systems.
Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to lay a wreath during a ceremony at the Unknown Tomb on June 22, 2026 in Moscow, Russia
The lid of a Russian oil refinery at Kapotnya is blown into the air during a Ukrainian drone strike
The decision to move the defence system to the capital comes as the capital’s three rings of air defence have proven to be vulnerable to Ukrainian drone attacks, which comes as a humiliating blow to Putin.
On Monday, a spate of drone attacks caused all four major Moscow airports to suspend operations.
And last week, scores of drones targeted the capital city, sparking fires in and around Moscow and forcing evacuations from its Sheremetyevo airport.
Footage captured the moment a Ukrainian drone struck the oil depot, sending a huge fireball into the sky as debris rained down around it.
Other unverified videos purported to show large columns of black smoke over the city’s skyline, while one clip showed drones buzzing overhead.
In further footage, bystanders were heard screaming in terror as explosions rang out and what appeared to be a rocket flew overhead, while smoke poured from an apartment block.
Earlier this month, Ukraine also staged a massive attack on a major oil port in St Petersburg just hours before the opening of Putin’s flagship international investment summit.
Over recent months, Kyiv has repeatedly struck refineries, oil terminals, pumping stations and export facilities deep inside Russian territory.
A woman walks outside a shopping mall as black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery
Smoke billows behind an Orthodox church following a reported Ukrainian drone attack, in Moscow, Russia, 18 June 2026
A satellite image shows a section of an oil refinery in Moscow following a Ukrainian drone attack in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia, June 20, 2026
Among the most significant targets were the NORSI refinery near Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s fourth largest refinery with capacity to process 16 million metric tonnes of oil annually. It suspended operations on April 5 following a drone attack.
The Moscow refinery was also hit on May 19, and the Ryazan refinery on the 15th, which accounts for almost five per cent of Russia’s refining volumes.
The Perm refinery, which processed around 12.6 million metric tonnes of oil in 2024, halted processing on May 7 after a drone attack caused a fire and damaged equipment.
The cumulative effect has been to place increasing strain on Russia’s energy sector, which remains the primary source of funding for the Kremlin’s war machine.
Ukraine’s stepped-up strikes on targets inside Russia allow Kyiv to negotiate the end of the war on an equal footing, President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month.
