ERBIL () — Russia on Sunday vowed to intensify its strikes on Kyiv after Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region on the final day of Russia’s parliamentary elections, killing at least two people and damaging a major oil refinery, according to Russian officials.
“In response to the Kyiv regime’s attacks on civilian targets within Russia, the Russian army will continue and intensify its high-accuracy strikes against military targets in Kyiv,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said, accusing Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the “democratic will of Russian citizens.”
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the assault as the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since Russia launched its military operations of Ukraine in 2022.
He said Russian air defenses had intercepted more than 1,600 Ukrainian drones since Saturday, including about 450 that were heading toward Moscow.
Several drones reached the Moscow area, according to Russian authorities, damaging a facility at the Moscow Oil Refinery and striking residential infrastructure.
Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said two people were initially killed in separate attacks, while a third victim was later reported to have died from injuries.
A drone strike that caused a fire at a 21-story apartment building also prompted the evacuation of about 400 people.
Sobyanin accused Ukraine of deliberately timing the attack to disrupt the three-day parliamentary elections, which concluded Sunday.
“The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed,” Sobyanin said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, confirmed that Ukrainian forces had carried out long-range strikes in the Moscow region and said they had hit an oil-industry facility and a logistics site.
“Our long-range responses had a very significant impact in the Moscow region last night,” Zelenskyy said on X, describing the targets as facilities that help sustain Russia’s war effort.
The attacks came as Russians cast ballots on the final day of elections for all 450 seats in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
The vote is the first parliamentary election since Moscow launched its full-scale military operation of Ukraine in 2022.
The ruling United Russia party, which has won every Russian parliamentary election since 2003, was widely expected to retain its dominance.
Parties supporting President Vladimir Putin and his government’s war policy remained the principal political forces on the ballot, while the liberal Yabloko party was barred from running a federal list, although some of its candidates remained eligible in individual constituencies.
Putin had urged Russians to participate in the election, presenting the vote as an expression of support for Russia and its military personnel.
The election also coincided with reports of cyberattacks against Russia’s electoral infrastructure. Central Election Commission Chair Ella Pamfilova said more than 1,000 waves of distributed denial-of-service attacks had targeted infrastructure involved in the electoral process, although she did not identify those responsible.
The latest developments come amid continued long-range drone and missile strikes between Russia and Ukraine, with both sides reporting attacks on military, energy, and other infrastructure in each other’s territory.
The Moscow attack also came as Ukraine reported further Russian strikes on its territory. Ukrainian authorities said Russian drones targeted the Kyiv region overnight, killing civilians and damaging homes and other infrastructure.
