Moscow, Russia - On Sunday, Russia vowed to "intensify" its strikes on Kyiv in response to a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow during three-day parliamentary elections, which have a projected winner. The renewed promise comes days after President Donald Trump signed a bill authorizing fresh sanctions on Russia.
"In response to the Kyiv regime's attacks on civilian targets within Russia, the Russian army will continue and intensify its high-accuracy strikes against military targets in Kyiv," the Russian defense ministry said, accusing Ukraine of attempting to "disrupt the democratic will of Russian citizens."
The response from Russia came after Ukraine fired waves of drones at Moscow and the surrounding region early Sunday, killing two people and setting an oil refinery ablaze as Russians voted in a final day of parliamentary elections, officials said.
The attack was the largest on Moscow since the Kremlin launched its Ukraine offensive in 2022 and involved some 1,600 drones, 450 of which were aimed directly at the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The new wave of attacks came days after President Donald Trump signed a bill authorizing new sanctions designed to pressure Russia over its ongoing war with Ukraine.
Images showed a gaping hole in a multi-storey apartment building on the outskirts of the city, while another showed black smoke pouring from what appeared to be an oil refinery.
As for the election, Russia's ruling "United Russia" party is projected to have won the country's tightly controlled parliamentary elections, an exit poll published after voting ended indicated on Sunday.
The poll, by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), showed United Russia winning 49.4 percent of the vote – around the same as it did in the 2021 election – while the Communist Party and nationalist LDPR party received 14.2 and 10.7 percent respectively.