Foreign Minister: Russia's State Duma elections a 'political performance'

Ukrainian forces launched over 1,000 drones at Russia overnight, with hundreds targeting Moscow, officials reported on Sunday, as the Kremlin concluded its parliamentary elections. Moscow's mayor declared this to be the largest drone assault on the Russian capital, citing damage to a city oil refinery and residential building. The attack resulted in two fatalities and 20 injuries in the Moscow region, according to local Governor Andrei Vorobyov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Kyiv utilized a mix of missiles and drones, including domestically produced Flamingo and Pelican missiles, to target oil and logistics facilities, aiming to inflict financial strain on Russia's economy. Russian forces retaliated with a drone strike on a monastery in Ukraine's Kherson region, resulting in the death of a clergy member and injuries to four others.

Additionally, a Russian attack on Kyiv killed two children and their mother, with one of the wounded children later succumbing to injuries in a hospital. The conflict coincided with Russia's final day of its first wartime parliamentary election, which has been virtually free of opposition to President Vladimir Putin's policies. Russia also held elections in four Ukrainian regions it annexed after the war began, though these remain under Ukrainian control.

Kyiv denounced these elections as illegitimate. In a Ukrainian-controlled area of Kherson, a drone strike killed a member of the local electoral committee, according to Russia's Central Election Commission. Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down 1,110 Ukrainian drones across Russian territory, including Crimea and the Black Sea.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that 450 drones were destroyed before reaching Moscow, and the assault damaged a city oil refinery and residential building. The mayor affirmed that the attack aimed to disrupt the elections, but the Kremlin dismissed this claim, asserting the "enemy failed" in this endeavor. Ukraine, a global leader in military drone technology, has increasingly employed these capabilities in strikes deep within Russia.

Despite Russia's ongoing invasion, Ukraine persists in its push for a negotiated peace settlement, with Putin showing no signs of ending the conflict. The two nations are engaged in a growing contest of long-range aerial strikes, as the frontline along the approximately 1,250-kilometer stretch in eastern and southern Ukraine has seen reduced activity due to the prevalence of drones and ground robots hindering troop movements.