Parkhanov told Interfax-Ukraine that while Russia’s regions had long felt the brunt of the war, Moscow had remained an untouchable symbol of state power.
“The strike on the Moscow refinery has finally closed that chapter,” he said.
“Despite Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s claims of ‘effective air defenses,’ it is no longer possible to hide the effects of the war on Russian territory.”
Parkhanov said the refinery supplied roughly 35 percent of Moscow’s fuel needs and, for some products, as much as half the city’s petrol and diesel. He said an attack only 15 kilometers from the Kremlin “instantly shatters two key myths: about the capital’s air defenses and about the war as something on TV rather than a real threat.”
The officer warned the strike could affect Russian stability.
“Fuel shortages have long been normal for Russian provinces and occupied territories. Now the problem has exploded at the imperial center,” he said.
One option the Kremlin has, Parkhanov said, is to divert fuel and diesel from other regions to supply Moscow and preserve an illusion of “peaceful plenty.” This would deepen the crisis across Russia but calm the capital. The other is to impose fuel rationing in Moscow itself, showing that “imperial grandeur comes at a cost.”
Parkhanov said Russian authorities are likely to acknowledge shortages and impose limits in Moscow. He added that the main effect of the strikes is psychological as much as economic: the social contract that “the government fights, the capital rests” has been broken.
“The notion of a ‘safe Moscow’ is officially over,” he said.
“The new reality for the capital of the aggressor state is life under the threat
of war, which will have long-term repercussions.”