MOSCOW REFINERY BURNS AS RUSSIANS HEAD TO THE POLLS
Ukrainian long-range attack drones reached the Moscow Oil Refinery in Kapotnya overnight, igniting a major fire as the Russian capital and its surrounding region took a hammering.
Russian authorities claim that 249 drones were intercepted or electronically suppressed across 17 districts of Moscow Region within just two hours. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later claimed that 450 drones had been destroyed across the wider approaches to the capital since September 19. These figures have not been independently verified, but several drones clearly broke through.
Footage recorded after sunrise shows flames continuing to burn as enormous columns of black smoke choke the sky above Moscow. Drones reached the refinery, struck a building near Orekhovy Boulevard and caused fires and damage across several districts of the surrounding region
The timing carries enormous political weight. Russians are voting today on the final day of the country’s parliamentary elections. As they travel to polling stations, they can look toward the capital and see the consequences of the war hanging above them.
The Kremlin has spent years attempting to present its invasion as something distant from everyday life inside Russia. That illusion is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain when airspace is restricted, explosions are heard across the region and smoke from a burning refinery darkens the election-day sky.
Moscow did not merely hear the war overnight. Today, as Russians vote, they can see it.