cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26941324
Summary
A massive Ukrainian drone strike targeted Russian oil refineries and infrastructure, including Moscow’s largest refinery, which supplies 50% of the city’s fuel.
The attack also hit the Druzhba pipeline control station, halting Russian oil exports to Hungary. With over 337 drones striking multiple regions, the operation exploited gaps in Russia’s air defenses.
Hungary, heavily reliant on Russian energy, called the pipeline attack a threat to its sovereignty.
Analysts suggest continued strikes could pressure Russia’s economy and energy dominance, potentially influencing ceasefire negotiations.
I’m unclear on how Russia has any oil infrastructure remaining, if so much of this war is long-distance guided munitions. A pipeline is a very large target, and the whole thing has to be intact for any of it to work.
It’s not a terribly large amount of work to repair a broken pipeline. It will be down for some days, possibly only hours. What can be done is destroying the pump stations, which, then again, are much smaller targets than the whole pipe. And they are being destroyed, like we just read. And then there are the oil refinineries. Their fracking towers tops are full of the most flammable types of fuel and because that tower is what takes in the crude oil, sorts its “parts” and sends those parts for refining in other parts of the facility, the facility cannot do anything if that tower gets badly damaged. And it’s also very expensive to fix them, and you need western spare parts that Turkey can offer in some amounts, but not terribly quickly.