Russia downs 1,600 Ukrainian drones in ‘unprecedented’ attack during elections – Moscow mayor
Two civilians were killed and several others, including two children, were injured in Moscow Region during a powerful Ukrainian drone raid that was aimed at derailing Russia’s parliamentary elections, local officials said.
In a statement on Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said more than 1,600 UAVs were repelled since the previous day, adding that 450 UAVs were intercepted on approaches to the capital.
“The unprecedented attack was clearly planned to disrupt the elections. The enemy failed,” he said.
Several drones reached the premises of the Moscow Oil Refinery, where one unidentified facility was damaged, and one struck a residential building, according to Sobyanin, who said there were no fatalities in the capital.
The consequences of the raid, however, were much more destructive in the suburbs. Earlier in the day, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov reported damage in the Ramenskoye District, southeast of Moscow, where a 44-year-old woman was killed and five others, including two children, were injured when a drone hit an apartment building in the village of Sofyino.
In the nearby city of Ramenskoye, around 400 people, including 70 children, were evacuated from a 21-story apartment block after falling drone debris sparked a fire on the roof, with 20 vehicles also damaged.
Another person was killed in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo District, where a private home was destroyed and caught fire during the attack. The victim was an elderly man who was inside the building, according to the governor.
Elsewhere in Moscow Region, a warehouse complex caught fire in Sofyino, and a drone struck an apartment building in Kotelniki, setting apartments on three floors ablaze. The authorities are still determining whether anyone was injured.
Private homes were also damaged in Kolomna and Yegoryevsk, while fires broke out at apartment buildings in the Leninsky District, Lyubertsy, and Lytkarino. A residential building and an industrial facility were damaged in Istra, with no casualties reported.
The massive raid struck Moscow and the surrounding region just hours before polling stations were due to open for the final day of Russia’s three-day parliamentary elections. Despite the attack, all 1,443 polling stations in Moscow opened on time, Moscow Election Commission Deputy Chairman Dmitry Reut told TASS.
Moscow has accused Kiev of undermining diplomatic efforts while publicly calling for renewed negotiations. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian leadership is “talking about peace” while doing everything to prevent peace and negotiations.
Earlier this month, Putin ordered large-scale retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in response to attacks inside Russia. Moscow has condemned the strikes on civilians as acts of terrorism, while maintaining that Russian forces only target military and defense-related facilities.
