Two people were killed and six others injured in a large-scale overnight drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region, Russian authorities said on Sunday, as the country entered the final day of parliamentary elections.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin described it as the “most massive” drone assault on the capital, claiming Russian defences had intercepted more than 1,600 drones since Saturday, including 450 approaching Moscow.
Several drones nevertheless reached the Moscow Oil Refinery, damaging the facility, while another struck a residential building. No casualties were reported within Moscow itself, according to the mayor.
“The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The adversary failed to achieve this,” Sobyanin wrote. Russia did not publicly provide evidence establishing that disrupting the vote was the purpose of the attack.
Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said civilian infrastructure was damaged and fires broke out at several locations.
In the Ramensky district, falling drone debris set fire to the roof of a 21-storey apartment building, forcing the evacuation of around 400 residents and damaging about 20 vehicles.
A drone also struck a three-storey residential building in Sofyino, killing one person and injuring five others, according to Russian authorities. A second person was killed in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo district, while another was injured in the Leninsky district.
The attack coincided with the final day of Russia’s three-day parliamentary election, alongside regional and local voting. More than 111 million people are eligible to vote, with all 450 seats in the State Duma being contested — half through party lists and half through single-member constituencies.
Ukraine had not commented on the Russian allegations at the time of the reports. The scale of the attack and individual claims concerning interceptions and damage remain difficult to verify independently amid the continuing war.