Ukrainian Drones, Striking Deep Into Russia, Bomb Oil Refinery at Moscow

Summer bombing campaign that has hit 21 Russian oil refineries and major depots over the last three months triggers a ban on gasoline exports.

kishjar via Wikimedia Commons CC2.0
An oil refinery at Moscow, targeted by Ukraine drone strikes. kishjar via Wikimedia Commons CC2.0

Ukrainian drones succeeded last weekend in penetrating Russian air defenses and hit the Moscow Oil Refinery. The ensuing fire knocked out half of production at the plant, the source of one third of gasoline sold in Moscow and most aviation fuel sold to the city’s five international airports.

In the summer of 1941, Germany’s Luftwaffe repeatedly sought to bomb this refinery, the main source of gasoline and diesel for the embattled capital. With German lines 10 miles west of Moscow, some Soviet tank drivers gassed up at the refinery — and then drove straight to the front. To fool Nazi navigators and bombardiers, 2,000 Soviet workers built a plywood replica of the plant — about two miles short of the  flight path to the real plant.

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