Moscow mayor calls drone barrage the largest-ever attack on the capital; two killed and 20 injured in wider Moscow region
Moscow, September 2026 : Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at targets across Russia overnight, including hundreds directed towards Moscow, Russian officials said on Sunday, in a massive aerial assault that coincided with the final day of Russia's parliamentary elections.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the barrage as the “largest ever” attack on the Russian capital, reporting damage to the Moscow Oil Refinery and a residential building. Authorities said extensive air-defence operations were conducted as drones approached the city.
In the wider Moscow region, two people were killed and 20 others injured in the attacks, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said. The deceased were identified as a 74-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had deployed a combination of missiles and drones during the operation. He said the strikes targeted oil and logistics infrastructure and included Ukraine's domestically produced Flamingo and Pelican missiles.
“These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the economic pressure Kyiv seeks to impose on Russia by targeting infrastructure linked to the country's war effort.
Russia Says More Than 1,100 Drones Intercepted
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had intercepted and destroyed 1,100 Ukrainian drones across the country, including over Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea. The ministry did not provide an independent assessment of the extent of damage caused by the strikes.
Sobyanin said 450 drones had been destroyed while heading towards Moscow. According to the mayor, the attack damaged the Moscow Oil Refinery as well as a residential building.
Describing the assault as an “unprecedented attack”, Sobyanin accused Ukraine of attempting to disrupt Russia's parliamentary elections. He said the effort had failed to interfere with the voting process.
The attacks came as Russia concluded its three-day parliamentary elections, the country's first nationwide parliamentary poll since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. The election has taken place amid tight political restrictions and limited organised opposition to President Vladimir Putin's policies.
Elections Held in Occupied Ukrainian Territories
Russia also conducted voting in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed but does not fully control, as well as in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Ukraine has condemned the elections in those territories as illegal.
The drone attacks and the election activity underscored the continuing confrontation between Moscow and Kyiv more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine has increasingly relied on long-range drones and domestically produced weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. Kyiv has developed significant capabilities in military drone technology and has used such systems alongside missiles against military, energy and logistics-related targets.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that attacks on Russian infrastructure are intended to impose costs on Moscow and demonstrate that the war can reach areas far from the front lines.
Long-Range Strikes Intensify
Kyiv has also sought to increase pressure on the Russian economy and population in an effort to influence Moscow's approach to the war and encourage negotiations. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has continued to pursue military operations in Ukraine.
The latest strikes are part of an intensifying exchange of long-range aerial attacks between Russia and Ukraine. While drone and missile strikes have expanded beyond the immediate battlefield, fighting continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometre front line across eastern and southern Ukraine.
The increasing use of drones has also changed battlefield dynamics, with large numbers of unmanned aerial systems and ground robots making troop movements increasingly difficult and affecting military operations along the front.
The latest barrage demonstrates the growing scale and reach of Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities, while Russia continues to rely on its air-defence systems to protect major cities and strategic infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks.
