At least two people were killed and a major oil refinery was damaged after hundreds of drones targeted Moscow and the surrounding region on the final day of Russia’s parliamentary elections, Russian officials said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted and shot down, including 450 heading towards Moscow. Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man died in separate locations.
Damage and evacuations reported in the Moscow region
Vorobyov said a fire started when a drone crashed into a 21-storey building, forcing the evacuation of 400 people. Sobyanin said a facility at the Moscow Oil Refinery was damaged, with emergency services responding and no casualties reported there at that point.
Officials link attack to election day
Sobyanin described the incident as an “unprecedented attack” and accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt a tightly controlled three-day parliamentary election. He said the attempt had failed. The vote is Russia’s first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and voting has also been organised in areas of Ukraine seized by Russia.
Ukraine reports overnight Russian drone strikes
Ukraine’s Air Force Command said Russia launched 138 drones of various types across Ukraine overnight. It reported that air defences shot down or neutralised 101 of them. Read the context: Ukraine’s Elite Drone Force Targets Russian Infrastructure in Crimea and Beyond.
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