Moscow Mayor Claims Attack Aimed to Disrupt Vote

A large-scale drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region killed at least two people and damaged a major Moscow oil refinery on the final day of the parliamentary elections, Russian authorities reported on Sunday, according to The Guardian.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down more than 1,600 drones, about 450 of them heading for Moscow. He blamed Ukraine for the attack and claimed it aimed to disrupt the three-day parliamentary elections. Kyiv did not immediately comment on the attack.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed the deaths of a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man in two separate locations. A fire broke out after a drone struck a 21-story building, and authorities evacuated about 400 people.

Sobyanin also cited damage to a facility at the refinery. According to available information, no casualties were reported there. The refinery was targeted in previous months as well.

Ukraine has meanwhile intensified its long-range drone strikes against Russian energy infrastructure. The elections, which began on Friday, are Russia's first parliamentary vote since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

(mja)