Russia claims to have shot down over 1,900 drones in Ukraine’s largest attack on Moscow

Ukraine launched what appears to be its largest-ever drone assault on Moscow on the night of September 19-20, with Russian authorities claiming their air defenses intercepted a staggering number of unmanned aerial vehicles. The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down over 1,100 drones across the country, while Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin put the total number of drones repelled at more than 1,600, with some accounts placing the full count of drones and munitions involved at over 1,900. To put that scale in perspective: previous large-scale drone attacks on Moscow earlier in 2026 involved hundreds of drones. This one dwarfed them all, arriving on a night that carried enormous symbolic weight, the final day of Russia’s parliamentary elections. Damage on the ground tells a different story than the intercept claims The Gazprom Neft Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district sustained damage from the strikes. A residential building was also hit. Two civilians were killed and roughly 20 others injured, including children, across the Moscow region. Evacuations were ordered in affected areas. Three of Moscow’s major airports, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Domodedovo, imposed temporary fl...