Ukraine launches over 1,000 drones at Russia on final day of Duma elections
Ukraine launched over 1,000 drones at Russia in its largest drone attack of the war, coinciding with the final day of the Russian Duma elections. The onslaught amounted to a rare success for Ukraine’s summer drone campaign against Moscow, which had failed to breach any of the city’s air defenses for months. Through sheer numbers, […]
Ukraine launched over 1,000 drones at Russia in its largest drone attack of the war, coinciding with the final day of the Russian Duma elections.
The onslaught amounted to a rare success for Ukraine’s summer drone campaign against Moscow, which had failed to breach any of the city’s air defenses for months. Through sheer numbers, it finally succeeded in inflicting some damage against the Russian capital, with images showing smoke over Moscow’s skyline. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that over 1,600 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defenses, including 450 on their several-hundred-mile approach to Moscow.
” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections.webp” alt=”Moscow damage” class=”wp-image-4735083″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections-1.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections-1.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections-1.webp?resize=768,512 768w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections-1.webp?resize=150,100 150w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ukraine-launches-over-1000-drones-at-russia-on-final-day-of-duma-elections-1.webp?resize=696,464 696w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>Flame and smoke is seen rising from Moscow’s oil refinery in the southeast of the city following a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (UGC via AP)
“The biggest attack by enemy drones has been repelled,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. “This unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed.”
Two people were killed in the attack, and 20 were injured. Footage showed a drone hitting a residential apartment building.
The Russian open-source intelligence analyst channel Rybar confirmed at least 1,300 drones, with 11 breaching Moscow’s air defenses. It said the attack had been planned for over a month and involved systematic prodding of Russia’s air defenses to identify possible weak points.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky celebrated the attack on X, saying 10 different types of drones and missiles were used, allegedly including its domestically produced Pelican ballistic missile, which would be the first confirmed use of the weapon.
“Our long-range responses had a very significant impact in the Moscow region last night. One of Russia’s key oil industry facilities and the aggressor’s logistics facility were hit. These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine,” he said.
“Moscow must end its brutal war and choose peace instead of building layered rings of air defense at the expense of other regions. Steps toward de-escalation are on the table – in energy and food security. What is needed is political will,” he added.
Videos confirmed hits on Russia’s Gazpromneft-Moscow Refinery, located just over 9 miles from the Kremlin. The facility is one of Russia’s largest and most important, providing about 40% of the capital’s fuel needs.
Ukraine said it struck three production facilities at the refinery, including the ACT-6 primary refining unit, an integrated oil refining unit, and an isomerization unit, the latter of which has been previously noted to be especially hard to repair.
The refinery strike came shortly after President Donald Trump said Ukraine had agreed to stop targeting refineries due to rising diesel costs.
The date of the strike fell on the last day of Russia’s first state Duma elections since September 2021, making it the first since the invasion of Ukraine. While Russia’s elections are widely derided as fraudulent, the elections are still significant as a time of increased sensitivity for the Kremlin, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party isn’t guaranteed a majority. Though opposition parties are almost all fully supportive of the war in Ukraine, the elections could decide how Putin will govern going forward.
Ukrainian intelligence has repeatedly insisted that Putin is waiting until after the elections to order a new mobilization, which would have a major impact on the war.
Fears of a new mobilization would also trigger alarm across Europe, which has become increasingly worried about an escalating conflict with Russia. Western intelligence agencies have sounded the alarm for months on Russian hybrid threats and a possible testing of NATO’s defenses.
