Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Moscow on Thursday. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed the attack, writing on Telegram that it was “a just response to the constant Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities and towns”. The oil refinery is one of the largest facilities in Russia and covers a significant proportion of the capital’s fuel demands.
Unable to defend the capital
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Now Moscow, too, is being made to feel the consequences of the war, writes blogger Serhii Marchenko on Facebook (Ukraine):
“Following the spectacular ‘fireworks‘ on the fringes of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin has received another resounding slap in the face – this time in Moscow. The dozens of drones that breached Moscow’s air defences are proof of Putin’s inability to protect even his own capital. In my view, as of today far fewer Muscovites will support the ‘special military operation’. After all, people always start to think twice when they’ve been given a good slap in the face.”
No munition for air defence systems
In a Telegram post republished by Echo, military expert Sergei Auslender sees Russia’s air defence on its last legs (Russia):
“Despite the boastful reports from Mayor Sobyanin, under whose leadership the city has supposedly improved so dramatically, the drones are hitting their targets. ... The effectiveness of an air defence system isn’t measured by the number of targets shot down, but by the damage it prevents. If a factory that was the target is hit – then the air defence system has failed. But it has now become clear to me: they simply lack the ammunition to operate the Pantsir, Buk and Tor systems. With attacks like these, production can’t possibly keep pace with consumption. So in effect the Pantsir batteries on rooftops are more a psychological measure.”
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