Russia suffered a massive drone attack on Sunday morning, denounced by the authorities as aiming to “disrupt” the progress of the legislative elections, the first since the start of the large-scale offensive against Ukraine in 2022. These legislative elections, which are also taking place in the territories of Ukraine occupied and annexed by Russia, should unsurprisingly result in victory for Vladimir Putin’s party. Follow our live stream.
Russian drone attack kills four people, including three children, in Kyiv region
In Ukraine, a mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed by a drone strike on their house, emergency services reported. A girl died in hospital after another strike, Kyiv Oblast Governor Timur Tkatchanko said.
Thirty-one sites were damaged in five districts, he said.
Moscow mayor denounces major drone attack aimed at ‘disrupting elections’
The mayor of Moscow accused Ukraine on Sunday of having launched an “unprecedented” attack in recent hours, mobilizing more than 1,600 drones towards Russia, with the aim, according to him, of “disrupting” the legislative elections.
According to Sergei Sobyanin, Russian anti-aircraft defenses have shot down more than 1,600 drones since Saturday, “450 of which were heading towards Moscow.”
“This unprecedented attack had clearly been planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed,” continued the elected official on Telegram.
Russians at the polls for the last day of the legislative elections
Russia’s parliamentary elections, presented by President Vladimir Putin as a barometer of support for the war against Ukraine, are entering their third and final day.
The ruling United Russia party is expected to retain its dominant position within a political system that, according to its critics, does not tolerate dissent.
The vote, which aims to renew the 450 seats in the lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, is the first organized since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Most candidates opposed to the war were excluded from the vote after the Supreme Court ruled that the liberal Yabloko party, which is demanding a ceasefire in Ukraine, had broken electoral rules. Some of its candidates, however, ran in certain constituencies.
Find here the thread of events of September 19, 2026.
