A woman in the Russian-occupied area of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine casts a vote in the Russian parliamentary elections, September 2026 (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Will Trump Sell Out Kyiv for Economic Deal with Russia?
UPDATE 0721 GMT:
Fabrice Duprez of the Financial Times summarizes Russia’s attempt to break Ukraine’s economy and civilian resistance with airstrikes.
Missiles and jet-powered drones struck shopping malls, warehouses, and distribution centers in late August and early September. Major Ukrainian retailers, publishing houses, pharmaceutical groups, and Nova Poshta, the country’s biggest private postal carrier, have been damaged.
The strikes have also caused the first supermarket shortages in Kyiv since the early weeks of Russia’s 2022 invasion.
UPDATE 0710 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 101 of 138 drones launched by Russia overnight. Strikes were recorded at 17 locations.
UPDATE 0546 GMT:
A woman and three young children were murdered by Russian strikes on the Kyiv region late Saturday.
The Russians attacked a residential area in the Fastiv district as three families with children were gathered outside a house. A mother has taken her two children inside to put them to bed when the explosion occurred, collapsing structural ceilings and igniting a fire.
Another child wounded in the Vyshhorod district died in the hospital.
An attack on a shopping center in Dnipro in southeast Ukraine injured at least four civilians.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has carried out drone attacks on the Moscow region amid Russia’s managed elections.
Claimed images of fire at the Moscow Oil Refinery are circulating.
The Moscow Oil Refinery is looking beautiful this morning.
— Jake Broe (@realjakebroe.bsky.social) September 20, 2026 at 4:08 AM
Moscow Governor Andrei Vorobyov said air defenses downed 249 drones across 17 districts between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. He claimed a woman was killed and five people injured when a drone struck a residential building in Sofyino, around 55 km (34 miles) southeast of Moscow.
Russian authorities said a man was slain in another district when a drone hit a home.
Russian aviation officials temporarily restricted operations at the Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports near Moscow overnight.
Russia is holding elections for the Duma from Friday to Sunday, the country’s first parliamentary vote during its 55-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The vote has been arranged for an overwhelming victory for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party, with the banning of all parties opposed to the invasion.
