Ukraine carried out one of its largest drone strikes on the Russian capital and its surrounding region in the early hours of Sunday, killing at least two people and damaging a major oil refinery on the final day of Russia's three-day parliamentary elections. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the attack as "unprecedented," saying more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted nationwide, with 450 aimed at Moscow alone. Regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed that 249 drones were shot down over the Moscow region, with fires breaking out in several residential buildings and a local warehouse. Flight restrictions were imposed at Sheremetyevo, Moscow's largest airport, and all arrivals and departures were temporarily halted at Vnukovo airport.
The two fatalities included a 44-year-old woman killed when a drone struck a three-storey residential building in Sofyino, and an elderly man who died after his home was hit in the Orekhovo-Zuevo district. Five others, including two children, were injured in those incidents. A separate drone impact on a 21-storey building triggered a fire that led to the evacuation of around 400 residents. A facility at the Moscow Oil Refinery — which has already been struck in previous Ukrainian drone campaigns — was also damaged, though no casualties were reported there.
Sobyanin accused Ukraine of deliberately timing the attack to disrupt the elections, writing on Telegram that "the enemy did not succeed." The parliamentary vote, which began on Friday 18 September and ran through Sunday evening, is the first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Only parties supporting President Vladimir Putin and the continued military campaign were permitted to stand, and the outcome — a victory for Putin's United Russia party — was widely expected. Analysts were nonetheless watching turnout figures and results from smaller pro-Kremlin parties as a measure of Russian public sentiment amid ongoing economic sanctions, fuel shortages, and internet restrictions in some regions.
The strike also intensified questions surrounding a ceasefire proposal on energy infrastructure. U.S. President Donald Trump had stated the previous week that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy facilities, a claim complicated by continued strikes on both sides. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had signalled readiness for "de-escalation measures" if Russia reciprocated, and was expected to meet Trump in New York the following week to discuss the path toward direct negotiations. Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued in parallel: a mother and her two young children were killed in the city of Fastiv in the Kyiv region on Saturday, and four people died when a Russian drone hit a car in the northeastern Sumy region.
The escalating exchange of long-range strikes reflects a broader pattern of both sides targeting energy infrastructure and logistics hubs, even as diplomatic efforts to wind down the conflict — now in its fifth year — show tentative signs of movement.