Ukraine launches over 1,000 drones at Russia on final day of Duma elections

Published September 20, 2026 10:41am ET | Updated September 20, 2026 10:41am ET



Ukraine launched over 1,000 drones at Russia in its largest drone attack of the war, coinciding with the final day of the Russian Duma elections.

The onslaught amounted to a rare success for Ukraine’s summer drone campaign against Moscow, which had failed to breach any of the city’s air defenses for months. Through sheer numbers, it finally succeeded in inflicting some damage against the Russian capital, with images showing smoke over Moscow’s skyline. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that over 1,600 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defenses, including 450 on their several-hundred-mile approach to Moscow.

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