Two dead in Moscow region, drones hit oil refinery in Russian capital

Plumes of smoke rise from fires (centre) at an oil refinery following what the authorities say is a Ukrainian drone strike in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia, September, 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

MOSCOW, Sept 20 - Two people died in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks on the Moscow region and an oil refinery in Russia's capital was hit, authorities said on Sunday, as Russia enters the final day of parliamentary elections.

Ukraine and Russia have continued attacks on each other's energy infrastructure despite an announcement by US President Donald Trump on Monday that they had agreed to stop.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel that the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks had been thwarted, with Russia downing more than 1,600 drones since Saturday, including 450 headed for Moscow.

Several drones reached the premises of the oil refinery and one hit an apartment, Sobyanin said, adding there were no casualties in the city.

"The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections," he said. "The adversary failed to achieve this."

Reuters witnesses heard blasts in Moscow and saw plumes of smoke billowing from the site of the Moscow refinery. The scale of any damage to the facility was not immediately known.

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.

The Moscow plant, which has been targeted multiple times, processed 11.6 million metric tons of oil in 2024, producing 2.9 million tons of gasoline and 3.2 million tons of diesel, the latest available data shows.

Ukraine has not commented on the attacks. Both sides say they do not target civilians.

In the wider Moscow region, in addition to the two deaths, 400 people, including 70 children, were evacuated from a 21-storey apartment block in the Ramenskoye district and a number of homes were damaged, said Governor Andrei Vorobyov. REUTERS