Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry did not say anything about the targets hit, for example.
When a mighty fortress is breached, the people inside usually panic.
Leaders often try to project absolute calm while the heavy stone walls crumble around them.
But sometimes, ignoring the cracks only makes the crowd angrier.
Ignoring the damage
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assesses that the Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow this weekend exposed massive holes in the city’s defensive shield.
Between May 16 and May 17, Ukrainian forces successfully hit key military and oil sites during a major overnight operation.
The ISW assesses that the massive attack exposed Russia’s inability to defend Moscow from Ukrainian attacks, and that the Kremlin clearly tried to downplay the failure when informing the public.
No mention of destroyed plants
The ISW notes that instead of acknowledging the vulnerability, Russian officials actively downplayed the heavy damage to their vital industrial network.
In her public statements, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova complained only about the danger to ordinary civilians.
She completely ignored the destroyed defense plants.
A quick television segment
According to the ISW, Russian state media strictly followed the exact same script.
Networks like Perviy Kanal and Rossiya-1 dedicated barely one minute to the massive aerial assault. The short broadcast gave viewers almost no real information.
Reporters simply told the public that retaliatory strikes were already underway.
Brushing off threats
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tried to manage public expectations. During a press briefing, reporters directly asked him about the heavy explosives falling on the capital city.
He dismissed the immediate danger with a brief statement. Peskov told the press that Russia “cannot be threatened as a nuclear power and its very existence cannot be threatened.”
That calm approach did not sit well with the most hardline supporters of the war. According to the ISW, Russian ultranationalist military bloggers immediately erupted in furious anger online.
Hardliners melt down
The ISW notes that influential internet commentators also lashed out at the military leadership. They criticized the repeatedly failing air defenses around Moscow and demanded immediate structural upgrades to protect the city.
Some prominent bloggers even demanded a tactical nuclear strike in response to the drone swarm. They blasted both Peskov and Zakharova for their surprisingly weak public statements.
The online community called for a massive new drone warning system. They warned that Ukraine is rapidly expanding its long-range reach while Russian leaders simply shut down local mobile internet to hide the ongoing chaos.
Refinery ablaze
According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), drones slammed into the Moscow Oil Refinery.
The strike package included a highly strategic industrial target. Ukrainian authorities reported hitting the Angstrem microelectronics plant. The factory supplies semiconductors for Russian weapons.
In total, the targets hit in the Moscow region were:
▪️ The Angstrem plant, which supplies semiconductors for Russia’s military-industrial complex and is under U.S. sanctions
▪️ The Moscow Oil Refinery
▪️ The Solnechnogorsk oil pumping station
▪️ The Volodarskoye oil pumping station
The information has not been independently verified.
Sources: Agentstvo, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian military bloggers, the Institute for the Study of War
