ASTRA: Air defence missile may have caused explosion at Moscow oil refinery PHOTO

An explosion at the Moscow Oil Refinery may have been caused by a Russian air defence missile, according to an open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis published by Russia’s independent monitoring project ASTRA.

ASTRA cited video footage recorded by a local resident that appears to show the moments leading up to an explosion at one of the refinery's oil storage tanks. The footage captures the tank's dome-shaped roof being lifted into the air by the blast.

According to ASTRA's analysis, the explosion occurred immediately after an air defence missile was launched and struck the facility. The assessment is based on what analysts described as a visible contrail in the video, which they say indicates the missile's flight path.

The video was filmed from a residential building in the Novye Kotelniki area southeast of Moscow. The analysts suggested that the missile was likely launched from a Pantsir air defence system positioned to the northeast of the refinery.

The incident follows reports that the Kapotnya Oil Refinery in Moscow was targeted in an attack on June 18.

By Sabina Mammadli