Ukraine launched the largest drone barrage of the war against the Moscow region on Sept. 20, 2026, the final day of Russia’s first wartime parliamentary election. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 1,110 drones overnight — its highest reported figure of the conflict — with Mayor Sergei Sobyanin saying 450 were aimed at the capital and calling the attack “unprecedented”.
Drones reached the Gazprom-run Moscow Oil Refinery, a plant processing roughly 11 million tons of crude annually. And Ukrainaian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine hit “one of Russia’s key oil industry facilities,” worth “billions of dollars that sustain the war machine”.
Regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported two killed and 20 injured, with a third death later reported; about 400 residents were evacuated from a burning high-rise in the Ramensky district. Russia’s overnight strikes on Ukraine killed at least four in the Kyiv region, including two three-year-olds, and three more in Kherson region.
Meanwhile, United Russia took nearly 58% of the party-list vote with turnout just under 57%. The ballot carried virtually no opposition, and Russia declined to invite OSCE observers for a third straight national vote.
The bottom line: the strikes didn’t stop the vote, but they brought fires and evacuations to the capital region on the day the Kremlin meant to showcase unity behind the war. Casualty counts are still unsettled.
