TWO people were killed in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks on the Moscow region, while several drones reached the premises of an oil refinery in the Russian capital, authorities said on Sunday, as Russia entered the final day of parliamentary elections.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russia had downed more than 1,600 drones since Saturday, including 450 headed for Moscow, describing the barrage as an unprecedented attack aimed at disrupting the elections.
“Several drones reached the premises of the oil refinery and one hit an apartment,” Reuters reported Sobyanin saying on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties in Moscow.
“The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections,” he said. “The adversary failed to achieve this.”
Reuters witnesses heard blasts in Moscow and saw plumes of smoke rising from the site of the Moscow refinery. The extent of damage to the facility was not immediately known.
In the wider Moscow region, two people were killed, while about 400 people, including 70 children, were evacuated from a 21-storey apartment block in the Ramenskoye district, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said. A number of homes were also damaged.
The attacks came despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. Both sides have continued strikes on energy facilities.
Ukrainian strikes have knocked out a significant portion of Russia’s oil refining capacity, contributing to fuel shortages, higher prices and long queues at petrol stations in several regions.
The Moscow refinery, which has been targeted several times, processed 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil in 2024, producing 2.9 million tons of gasoline and 3.2 million tons of diesel, according to the latest available data.
Ukraine has not commented on the latest attacks. Both Russia and Ukraine say they do not target civilians. - September 20, 2026
