On September 20, the final day of Russia’s State Duma (lower house) elections, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow and other parts of mainland Russia since the outbreak of the war. Moscow’s key oil refining facilities and residential buildings were attacked, causing casualties, while Russian forces also carried out massive airstrikes on major Ukrainian regions, intensifying mutual strikes on infrastructure between the two countries.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that from the previous night to early that morning, Russian air defenses intercepted more than 1,600 Ukrainian drones, of which about 450 were headed toward Moscow. This attack is known to be the largest single drone attack targeting Moscow.
The Gazprom Neft-Moscow oil refinery in Kapotnya, southeastern Moscow, was also attacked, causing a large fire. This facility is a key oil refining site responsible for about 40% of the Moscow metropolitan area’s fuel supply. In Ramenskoye on the outskirts of Moscow, a drone struck a 21-story residential building, causing a fire and prompting the evacuation of about 600 people. Moscow Oblast authorities said the attack killed 2 people and injured at least 20, including 3 children.
Takeoff and landing of aircraft at major airports near Moscow were also temporarily suspended. At least 30 flights were canceled or delayed, and a Turkish Airlines passenger plane diverted its Moscow-bound flight to Istanbul to avoid the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the attack used new explosive drones “Flamingo,” cruise missiles”Palianytsia”, and new domestically produced ballistic missiles “Pelican (FP-7).” President Zelenskyy claimed that the purpose of the attack was to strike Russia’s oil and logistics facilities to cut off funding for the war effort.
This attack took place on the final day of Russia’s State Duma elections. Russian authorities denounced Ukraine’s airstrikes and cyberattacks on Moscow’s online voting system as terrorist operations aimed at disrupting the elections. Russia’s Central Election Commission said it had blocked attacks on the online voting system.
Russian forces also carried out massive airstrikes against Ukraine during the same period. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces deployed 138 Shahed and jet-engine-equipped drones from the night of September 19 to the early morning of September 20 to attack major Ukrainian regions. In Fastiv, Kyiv Oblast, a residential area was attacked, killing 4 people including a mother and two children, and in Sumy, a vehicle was attacked by a drone, killing 4 people, resulting in at least 8 civilian deaths.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that through this attack, it struck military facilities such as a warehouse of the Ukrainian weapons manufacturer “Fire Point” in Kyiv and a cargo ship at Odesa port. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said on September 14 that the two countries had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, but with neither country officially confirming this, exchanges targeting key infrastructure such as energy and logistics continue.
