Ukraine Launches Largest Drone Attack on Moscow as Russians Vote
Ukraine launched what Moscow’s mayor called the biggest drone attack yet on the Russian capital on Sunday, as Russians voted on the final day of a parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin has cast as a test of support for the war in Ukraine. The drone strikes killed two people in the Moscow region and two more in the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, including an election official, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and election authorities. A facility at Moscow’s oil refinery, which has been targeted before, was also damaged. [2]
Largest Ukrainian Drone Attack Hits Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the assault as the biggest drone attack on the capital to date and said it was intended to disrupt voting but failed. [2] The strikes damaged a facility at Moscow’s oil refinery that had been targeted before. [2] Russian air defenses intercepted the majority of the drones, but the attack still produced visible damage and casualties on election day. [2] Sobyanin stated on Telegram that the biggest attack by enemy drones had been repelled and that this unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections, adding that the enemy did not succeed. [2] People gathered in the courtyard of a damaged multi-storey residential building hit by what authorities described as a Ukrainian drone strike in Moscow. [2]
Damage to Moscow Oil Refinery
Ukrainian drone attack damages Moscow oil refinery facility on Russian election day. — Source: cyprusmail
Ukraine’s General Staff reported three specific units hit, causing a major fire. [4] The General Staff said the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district was hit on the night of 19-20 September, after which a major fire broke out at the facility. [4] The military said that the damaged equipment includes the AVT-6 crude oil distillation unit, a comprehensive oil processing unit and an isomerisation unit. [4] The Moscow Oil Refinery has an annual capacity of around 12 million tonnes of oil. [4] The General Staff noted that the facility is involved in supplying the Russian armed forces. [4] Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that one of Russia's key oil industry plants in the Moscow region had been hit, without naming the specific facility. [4] Plumes of smoke rise from fires at an oil refinery following what the authorities say is a Ukrainian drone strike in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow. [3]
Casualties and Election-Day Timing
Two people were killed in the Moscow region by the drone strikes and two more died in the Russian-held part of Kherson region, including an election official. [2] The parliamentary vote is expected to deliver a landslide for United Russia. [2] Turnout exceeded 45 percent by late morning on the final day. [2] The State Duma vote, the first since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, is expected to see the ruling United Russia party easily retain its dominance in a political system critics say does not tolerate dissent. [2] The election authorities say the three days of voting have proceeded smoothly despite cyberattacks reported on Saturday. [2] Turnout by late morning on Sunday was at over 45 per cent for the Duma vote and regional elections, said Central Election Commission Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova. [2] Putin on Friday also accused Ukraine of trying to interfere in the election, citing what he said was a Ukrainian strike that killed an election official in her home in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on Tuesday. [2]
Additional Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Targets
Ukraine's General Staff has reported that three units at the Moscow Oil Refinery were damaged in an overnight strike. [4] The defence forces also hit a Russian Buk-M3 air defence system, a Nebo-U radar station and a drone production site in occupied territory. [4] The defence forces hit a Russian Buk-M3 air defence system near Ukrainka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and a Nebo-U radar station was hit near Balka in Donetsk Oblast on 19 September and on the night of 19-20 September. [4] A Russian drone production site was also hit near occupied Siverskodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast. [4]
Russian Election Proceedings Despite Attack
The parliamentary vote is expected to deliver a landslide for United Russia. [2] Turnout exceeded 45 percent by late morning on the final day. [2] Most anti-war candidates have been barred from the ballot. [2] Those who did run from the liberal Yabloko party, which has polled in the single digits in recent years but hoped to tap into war fatigue, said they feared for their freedom after courts handed long jail terms to two senior party figures before the vote for comments about the conflict. [2] In a small act of defiance, Yabloko’s leader, Nikolai Rybakov, demonstrably spoiled his ballot paper, writing his party’s name and the slogan “For peace”. [2] The Kremlin says national unity and some censorship are necessary during what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine. [2] It casts the conflict as part of an existential struggle with a hostile West. [2] Moscow says Ukrainian intelligence services and other enemies are stepping up efforts to stir unrest inside Russia. [2] Russian electoral officials said on Saturday that an online voting system in Moscow had come under cyberattack. [2] Kyiv, which has suspended elections under martial law, has dismissed the Russian vote as a “pseudo election”. [2] Putin told the nation in a televised address before the election that the vote would underline support for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. [2] Initial results are expected to start emerging at around 9pm Cyprus time on Sunday, with more complete results available on Monday. [2]
Separate Russian Attacks Across Ukraine
Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least eight and wounded 30 others over the past day, local authorities said on Sept. 20. [1] Separately, a child wounded in a Russian strike on Kyiv Oblast a day earlier died in hospital. [1] In eastern Donetsk Oblast, seven people were injured over the past day by Russian attacks, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. [1] In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, three people, including a 19-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman, and a 50-year-old man, were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. [1] In southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a person was killed and three others were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said. [1] In southern Kherson Oblast, three people were killed and 11 others, including a child, were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. [1] In northeastern Sumy Oblast, two men aged 45 and 58 and two women aged 56 and 76 were killed by Russian attacks over the past day, in addition to five others injured, the regional military administration said. [1] In northern Chernihiv Oblast, a person was wounded by a Russian first-person view (FPV) drone in a village on the border, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said. [1] Ukrainian trains are experiencing significant delays due to Russian attacks, with the Dnipro-Uzhhorod and Zaporizhzhia-Przemysl services already running 13 hours and 40 minutes late. [5] Most delays affect routes running through southern regions of Ukraine. [5] There are also delays on routes to and from Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv and Cherkasy. [5]
What to watch next: Initial results are expected to start emerging at around 9pm Cyprus time on Sunday, with more complete results available on Monday.
