Ukraine launched what officials said is its largest drone attack on Moscow this weekend, on the last day of Russia’s parliamentary elections.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday it shot down 1,951 drones and eight long-range cruise missiles within 24 hours. Another cruise missile “deviated from its course and fell in an uninhabited area,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“This unprecedented attack was clearly planned to disrupt the elections,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. “The enemy failed.”
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More than 400 drones approached Moscow, according to Sobyanin.
Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 20 people, including three children, were injured. Two people died, including a 74-year-old man in the Orekhovo-Zuevsky District and a 44-year-old woman from Ramenskoye, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the country’s “long-range responses had a very significant impact in the Moscow region last night.”
The attack hit a Russian oil industry facility and a logistics facility, according to Zelenskyy. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the oil facility was Gazpromneft-Moscow Refinery.
“These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
This election marks Russia’s first since invading Ukraine in February 2022. Under the Kremlin’s control, there is no opposition to the United Russia party, which supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, meaning it is likely the party will maintain control of the State Duma. Smaller parties with the “systemic opposition,” which vote in line with Putin’s policies, are expected to keep their position as well, according to The Associated Press.
As Ukraine carried out its own attacks, it also defended against Russian strikes, Zelenskyy said.
On Saturday, Russia struck a monastery with an FPV drone, killing one member of the clergy and wounding four others, Zelenskyy said. In addition, Zelenskyy said there were strikes on “critical and civilian infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Sumy and Odesa regions” and residential buildings were hit in the Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia region.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional state administration, said three children and one woman died in a Russian attack on Kyiv on Saturday.
“This week alone, Russia has launched more than 2,000 attack drones against us, most of them jet-powered, as well as 1,700 aerial bombs and 19 missiles of various types,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine is constantly looking for and finding ways to defend itself and respond to these attacks on life.”
The Ukrainian president urged the U.S. and Europe to “take new sanctions steps against the aggressor and force peace through strength” in light of the attacks.
Trump signs sweeping Russia sanctions bill
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a bill granting the U.S. the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five biggest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas. The legislation is named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham,R-SC., a key supporter of foreign intervention.
The House passed the bill 262-159 on Thursday, with 58 Democrats joining most Republicans. Seven Republicans opposed the measure. Democrats who opposed the bill argued it gave Trump too much new tariff authority.
Zelenskyy thanked Trump and the members of Congress who supported it in a statement.
“The best way to honor Lindsey’s memory will be to implement the provisions of this law fully and swiftly,” he said. “And the best reward for everyone helping us put pressure on Russia to end its war will be peace. Peace — and an end to all the problems and challenges this war has brought.”
On Sunday, Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump, and the two agreed to meet in New York.
“This meeting could change a lot,” Zelenskyy said. “There is diplomatic momentum.”