Ukraine has carried out its largest reported drone attack on Moscow and surrounding areas as Russia wrapped up its parliamentary elections.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the attack involved about 1,900 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including 450 headed toward the capital.
Several drones penetrated Russian defenses, damaging a residential building and a major Moscow oil refinery. They also reportedly killed at least two people and wounded 20 others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine deployed domestically produced weapons in the operation, including Fire Point’s FP-1 drone, the RZ-100 kamikaze system, and the MICH 2000 deep-strike UAV.
Sources also said Ukraine fielded Flamingo cruise missiles and Pelican winged drones during the operation. The strike reportedly marked the Pelican’s first combat use after the weapon completed testing earlier this month.
“This unprecedented attack was clearly planned to disrupt the elections. The enemy failed,” Sobyanin said on social media.
The Drone Battle Escalates
Russia has stepped up drone attacks on Ukraine in recent months, including a strike that hit a monastery in Kherson last week, killing a member of the clergy and wounding four people.
Kyiv Regional State Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko also reported a separate Russian drone strike on the Kyiv region Saturday evening that killed a mother and her two children.
Zelensky claimed that Russia launched more than 2,000 drones, 1,700 guided aerial bombs, and 19 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week.
“Ukraine is constantly looking for and finding ways to defend itself and respond to these attacks on life. It is important that our partners also look for and find ways to make Russia feel its war,” he explained.
