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Photograph: Reuters     (hundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       Smoke rises from an oil refinery in Moscow, Russia on Sunday. Photograph: Reuters       (https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) Russia     Ukraine targets Moscow with hundreds of drones on final day of Russian election   At least three people killed and oil refinery damaged as doubts cast over initial reports of ballistic missile use         (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/dan-sabbagh) Dan Sabbagh ,  (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/pjotr-sauer) Pjotr Sauer and agencies    Sun 20 Sep 2026 10.44 EDT  First published on Sun 20 Sep 2026 02.04 EDT   (mailto:?subject=Ukraine targets Moscow with hundreds of drones on final day of Russian election&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/hundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          Ukraine has targeted Moscow and the surrounding region in a large-scale attack that involved hundreds of drones. The attack killed at least three people and damaged what Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said was one of Russia’s “key oil industry facilities” on the (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/18/russia-parliament-election-duma-putin) final day of the country’s parliamentary elections , authorities said on Sunday.  Zelenskyy said that among the weapons used in the attack was the Pelican, initially thought to be a short-range ballistic missile, but which sources said later was a winged drone.        (Fires at Moscow oil refinery facility after drone attack)                 Fires at Moscow oil refinery facility after drone attack     The president did not offer any further details, prompting media reports in Ukraine that it was a ballistic missile, only for doubt to be cast on the weapon identification later in the day. Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had used its domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles to strike Moscow. The long-range weapon has previously been used against targets deep inside (https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) Russia and has the range to reach the country’s capital. Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels posted images of what they said was debris from a Flamingo missile found in the Moscow region, though the claims could not be independently verified. Ruslan Leviev, the head of the open-source investigation group Conflict Intelligence Team, said the debris probably came from a Flamingo missile.       (People in blue Hazmat suits next to a very large steel missile)   (hundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election.html#img-2)   View image in fullscreen       Workers at Fire Point’s secret factory in Ukraine inspect one of their FP-5 Flamingo missiles last year. Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP  Moscow’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, said that more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted and shot down, 450 of which were aimed at Moscow, though these figures are often exaggerated, and Ukraine’s daily drone fire rate estimated a number in the low hundreds. Sobyanin accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere with a tightly controlled three-day election in Russia that is expected to tighten Vladimir Putin’s 26-year grip on power. “The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed,” he said on Telegram. At least three people were killed, including a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man, in separate incidents. A fire triggered by a drone crashing into a 21-storey building also led to 400 people being evacuated, said Moscow’s regional governor, Andrey Vorobyov, without specifying the drone’s origin. Kyiv has stepped up its (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/27/ukraines-drone-attacks-have-left-russia-desperately-scrambling-for-oil-imports) campaign of long-range drone strikes against Russia in recent months, particularly against energy infrastructure, a vital source of the Kremlin’s revenue to fund its war effort. Ukrainian ​strikes have knocked out a significant part of Russia’s oil-refining capacity, triggering oil product shortages, fuel price increases and long queues at filling stations in many regions across the country’s 11 time zones. (hundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election.html#EmailSignup-skip-link-15) skip past newsletter promotion     Free newsletter | Weekly    Sign up to This is Europe  The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment  ()   Enter your email  ()   Sign up      after newsletter promotion   A facility on the territory of the Moscow oil refinery had been damaged, Sobyanin said. No casualties were reported and emergency services were on the scene. The refinery had already been hit by Ukrainian strikes in recent months. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/18/russia-parliament-election-duma-putin)  Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip     Read more        The Pelican missile was initially thought to be the FP-7 made by Fire Point, Ukraine’s most successful long-range drone and missile maker. But several hours later, as the speculation persisted, other military sources said it was a long-range drone. The company is also developing the longer-range FP-9, which has a range of more than 500 miles, meaning it could be used to target Moscow in the future. A test flight is expected later this autumn. The latest strike comes after the US president, Donald Trump, said on Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. It also comes after Russians began voting on Friday in the country’s first (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/ukraine-war-briefing-kyiv-denounces-russias-inclusion-of-annexed-regions-in-parliamentary-elections) parliamentary elections since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin’s military campaign have been registered to run. Moscow has also organised voting in occupied Ukraine. Few Russians doubt Putin’s United Russia party will coast to victory again, but the vote offers a gauge of public support for the war. With Agence France-Presse and Reuters          Explore more on these topics (https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) Russia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) Ukraine  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe  (https://www.theguardian.com/business/oil) Oil  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/volodymyr-zelenskiy) Volodymyr Zelenskyy  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/drones) Drones (military)  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/vladimir-putin) Vladimir Putin  (https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) news    (mailto:?subject=Ukraine targets Moscow with hundreds of drones on final day of Russian election&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/hundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election?CMP=share_btn_url) Share     (https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Fsep%2F20%2Fhundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election&type=article&internalpagecode=world/2026/sep/20/hundreds-of-drones-target-moscow-on-last-day-of-voting-in-russias-parliamentary-election) (Reuse this content) Reuse this content                  More on this story                        More on this story                       (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/baltic-spy-chiefs-warn-moscow-is-preparing-for-more-decisive-action-in-europe)    ()      European spy chiefs warn Moscow is planning more decisive action against Nato   (Sunday, September 20, 2026 at 12:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 3h ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/18/edgars-rinkevics-europe-ukraine-war)    ()      Latvia’s president warns that Europe is not up to date with drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine   (Friday, September 18, 2026 at 06:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 2d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/14/ukraine-kallas-not-scared-russian-strike-train)    ()      Russian strike on passenger train will not deter Ukraine’s backers, Nato chief says   (Monday, September 14, 2026 at 12:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 6d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/13/russian-drone-hits-kyiv-warsaw-passenger-train-polish-border)    ()      Trains carrying Boris Johnson and ex-CIA chief may have been targeted in Russian strike, officials say   (Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 01:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 13 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/11/russia-kyiv-petrol-stations-jet-powered-drones-ukraine)    ()      Russia targets Kyiv petrol stations for first time with jet-powered drones   (Friday, September 11, 2026 at 08:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 11 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/10/russia-orthodox-church-dmitry-donskoy-medieval-prince-hand-troops-ukraine)    ()      Orthodox church sends medieval prince’s remains to Russian troops in Ukraine   (Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 11:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 10 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/08/uk-commits-100m-bolster-ukraine-air-defences-russia-war)    ()      Remilitarisation and support for Ukraine must not slacken, US tells Europe   (Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 12:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 8 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/06/us-envoys-jared-kushner-steve-witkoff-arrive-kyiv-talks-on-ending-war)    ()      US envoys Kushner and Witkoff visit Kyiv for first time after Putin talks   (Sunday, September 6, 2026 at 02:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 6 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/05/steve-witkoff-jared-kushner-russia-revive-ukraine-talks)    ()      Witkoff and 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