Was a Russian oil refinery attacked by a ‘Ukraine’ drone bought online?

Despite initial Russian claims that an oil refinery that burst into flames after being struck by two “terrorist” drones of purported Ukraine origin, rising speculation – backed by some visual support – suggests the kamikaze UAVs may have been bought for several thousand dollars on the Chinese marketplace Alibaba. If so, that kind of procurement and deployment should get people thinking in a variety of ways.

The incident took place Wednesday morning at the Novoshakhtinsk complex, a major oil refinery in western Russia not far from the border with Ukraine. The facility – which processes 8.2 million tons of crude per year – was struck by what were described as two drones 43 minutes apart, provoking fires and inflicting structural damage.

“As a result of terrorist actions from the Western border of the Rostov region, two unmanned aerial vehicles struck at the technological facilities of Novoshakhtinsk,” said a widely circulated statement from the…