Mayor Sobyanin reported that a drone struck a building close to one of Moscow’s boulevards and damaged a facility at an oil refinery in an attempt to disrupt Russia’s tightly controlled parliamentary election. The attack, described as “massive,” killed two people, one of whom was an election official, according to the head of Russia’s election commission.
Sunday marked the third day of voting in an election that critics say is neither free nor fair. The drone strike occurred in a Moscow‑controlled part of Kherson in Ukraine, where an election official was among the casualties. Russian state media confirmed the deaths.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s largest airport, Sheremetyevo, warned passengers of temporary restrictions overnight, and Vnukovo airport halted all arrivals and departures. Both airports lifted the restrictions by Sunday morning, though some flights remained delayed.
The incident follows a series of attacks in Ukraine that killed civilians. A mother and her two children were killed in Fastiv, Kyiv, and a child died after being injured in Vyshhorod. In Sumy, four people were killed when a Russian drone hit a car. Both sides have continued to target energy infrastructure, despite President Donald Trump’s claim that the parties had agreed not to do so.
Russia and Ukraine remain locked in a conflict that has seen repeated drone attacks on critical infrastructure and civilian targets. The latest strike underscores the ongoing volatility around the Moscow region and the broader election timeline.
