Moscow and the region surrounding the Russian capital suffered a massive drone attack this Sunday that has left at least two dead and caused damage to an oil refinery, according to Russian authorities. The attack occurs during the last day of parliamentary elections in Russia.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, assured that several drones hit the facilities of the capital's oil refinery, although the extent of the damage has not yet been specified. Images released after the attack show columns of smoke over the facility. No casualties have been reported within the city of Moscow due to the impact on the refinery.
Two dead and hundreds evacuated
In the Moscow region, authorities have reported two fatalities in different locations as a result of the attacks. The governor of the region, Andrei Vorobyov, also noted that about 400 people, including 70 children, were evacuated from a 21-story residential building in the Ramenskoye district after a drone caused a fire. Several homes were damaged.
Regional authorities also reported the downing of 249 drones in the region, while the mayor of Moscow communicated that another 186 were intercepted over the capital. Sobyanin raised the number of drones shot down since Saturday to more than 1,600 in total attacks, including 450 directed towards Moscow. These figures come from Russian authorities.
The Moscow refinery among the affected facilities
The Moscow oil refinery, located in the Kapotnya district, suffered damage during the attack. It is an energy infrastructure that had already been targeted in previous attacks.
The impact occurs at a time when Russian energy facilities are suffering recurrent attacks in the context of the war in Ukraine. Reuters points out that drone attacks have reduced the activity of several Russian refineries and have contributed to tensions in the internal fuel supply.
The attack coincides with the parliamentary elections
The offensive occurs on the last day of the Russian parliamentary elections. Sobyanin stated that the attack aimed to disrupt the electoral process, an interpretation attributed to the mayor of Moscow that has not been publicly supported by Ukraine.
Ukraine has not made any comments about the attack so far. Both countries maintain that their operations do not target the civilian population.
The attack occurs just a few days after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking their respective energy infrastructures. Despite that announcement, both countries have continued to record attacks against such facilities.