According to The Guardian, Moscow, the Russian capital, and Moscow Region came under a large-scale Ukrainian air attack on Sep. 20, killing two people and injuring five, and damaging the Moscow oil refinery. Sep. 20 was the last day of voting in Russia's State Duma (lower house of parliament) elections, and Russia accused Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the elections. Ukrainian authorities said on Sep. 20 that Kyiv Region had been attacked by Russian forces, killing four people.
Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Sep. 20 that over the past 24 hours it had intercepted 1,951 drones, eight guided aerial bombs, four HIMARS rockets and eight Flamingo long-range cruise missiles. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Moscow had suffered the largest attack since the outbreak of the conflict, with about 450 drones shot down as they approached the city, and several drones hitting the Moscow oil refinery. He said the attack was "long premeditated and intended to disrupt the elections." Ukraine's State Emergency Service said on September 20 that Russian forces had attacked Kyiv Region, Odesa Region and other areas, with four people killed in Kyiv Region.
Russia's ninth State Duma elections were held from Sep. 18 to 20. This was Russia's first nationwide parliamentary election since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the first time that four regions, including Donetsk, which were annexed by Russia following referendums in 2022, participated in federal-level parliamentary elections. On the first day of voting, some polling stations in Sochi were temporarily closed due to drone attacks. On Sep. 20, Russia's Central Election Commission said Moscow's voting information system had been attacked, and electronic voting terminals experienced a malfunction lasting about 20 minutes before resuming normal operation. On the same day, a member of a precinct election commission at a polling station in Kherson was killed in a drone attack, and a polling station set up in a school in Zaporizhzhia was attacked. The election results will be announced no later than Oct. 5.
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