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A plume of smoke rises from an oil refinery in Moscow after an airstrike on Sept. 20 local time, in this screenshot taken from a video obtained from social media. / Reuters-Yonhap

Ukraine launched a large-scale drone and missile offensive against targets including an oil refinery and logistics facilities in Moscow on Sept. 20 local time, the final day of Russia’s lower house elections.

Russian authorities claimed that air defenses had shot down more than 1,600 drones since the previous day, while the Russian Defense Ministry put the scale of the Sept. 20 attack at 1,951 drones and eight missiles.

With 50.03% of ballots counted, the ruling United Russia party had secured 57.87% of the vote.

As Russia continued its own attacks on Ukrainian industrial and logistics facilities, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were set to meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.

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A residential building in Kotelniki, Moscow Region, is seen damaged after what Russian authorities said was a Ukrainian drone attack on Sept. 20 local time. / Reuters-Yonhap

Ukraine strikes Russian oil and logistics facilities; Russia claims over 1,600 drones were shot down

On this day, Ukraine's offensive extended to oil facilities in the Moscow metropolitan area. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated that Russian air defense systems had intercepted more than 1,600 drones since the previous day, with 450 heading toward Moscow, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that 1,110 drones were downed overnight across various regions of Russia, the Crimean Peninsula, and the Black Sea. Based on defense ministry data, TASS reported that 1,951 drones and eight missiles were mobilized in attacks targeting Russian territories.

The Moscow Refinery, residential buildings, and warehouses also sustained damage. German business daily Handelsblatt, citing TASS, reported that the Moscow Refinery was struck and damage also occurred in residential areas across the capital region. Reuters reported that three people were killed in Moscow Oblast.

Two people, including an election official, were also killed in the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine.

Mayor Sobyanin defined this assault as an "unprecedented attack." TASS reported his claim that while the attack was "designed to disrupt elections, the enemy failed."

President Zelenskyy announced on social media platform X that Ukrainian-made drones and Flamingo missiles were deployed to strike Russian oil and logistics facilities. The Associated Press reported his statement that these facilities generate "billions of dollars that fund the war machine."

The New York Times reported that President Zelenskyy stated the new FP-7 Pelican ballistic missile was used against targets inside Russia for the first time during this offensive. However, NYT analyzed that based on descriptions from manufacturer Fire Point, the FP-7 lacks the range to reach Moscow and was likely targeted at other Russian regions.

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Senior figures of the ruling United Russia party, including Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev (second from left) and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (third from left), visit party headquarters in Moscow on the 20th (local time) following the announcement of provisional State Duma election results. / Reuters, Yonhap

Ruling United Russia wins 57.87% of votes with 50.03% counted as opposition Yabloko barred from national party list

Amid continuing massive airstrikes, Russia's three-day parliamentary elections drew to a close that day. According to data from the Russian Central Election Commission, United Russia secured 57.87% of the vote with 50.03% of ballots counted, TASS reported. The Communist Party garnered 13.79%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia took 8.80%, New People received 7.86%, and A Just Russia won 5.11%. Provisional turnout was tallied at 56.66%. Russia also conducted voting in four occupied regions of Ukraine that it had declared annexed.

However, participation by the anti-war camp was severely curtailed. The Russian Supreme Court barred the liberal, anti-war Yabloko Party from participating in the national party-list vote last month, but 98 candidates remained on ballots in single-mandate districts across 42 regions, NYT reported. Eight figures affiliated with Yabloko are currently imprisoned in connection with anti-war activities, with two party deputy chairs sentenced to seven and 11 years, respectively. Reuters reported that Yabloko Chairman Nikolay Rybakov wrote the party's name along with "For peace" on his ballot, rendering it invalid.

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Ukrainian citizens walk along a road beside an industrial warehouse near Kyiv that was struck by a Russian attack on the 20th (local time). / EPA, Yonhap

Russia strikes Ukraine's industrial and logistics network, shutting down 3 steel mills accounting for 90% of production

Long-range strikes by both sides are increasingly targeting each other's economic infrastructure. According to the Financial Times (FT), Russian missile and new jet-powered drone attacks have destroyed 2.1 million square meters of Ukraine's 5 million square meters of modern warehouse space, accounting for 42% of the total. In recent months alone, 900,000 square meters have been hit. This month, ballistic missile strikes halted operations at three of Ukraine's major steel plants, which account for 90% of the country's steel production. The attacks killed 17 workers, and the affected facilities employ more than 15,000 people, the FT reported.

Strains on government finances and exports have also mounted. Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said Russian attacks could reduce tax revenues by approximately $1.5 billion (2.082 trillion won). The Ukrainian government estimated this year's budget deficit at $27 billion (37.476 trillion won). Losses from Russia's Black Sea blockade were estimated at around 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), and agricultural exports through alternative transit corridors reached only about 40% of normal levels, according to the FT.

Olena Bilan, head of research and chief economist at Ukrainian investment firm Dragon Capital, noted that Ukraine is unlikely to post economic growth this year. She told the FT that companies suffering warehouse damage have no choice but to pass the added costs onto consumers, adding that both nations are waging an "economic war of attrition" following their military war of attrition.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump pose for a commemorative photo during their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 28 (local time). / Presidential Office of Ukraine via UPI, Yonhap

Trump and Zelenskyy agree to New York talks as Trump calls for halt to Russian refinery strikes

As both sides continue targeting energy and industrial facilities, U.S. mediation diplomacy is regaining traction. Following a phone call with President Trump, President Zelenskyy posted on X that they "agreed to meet in New York" and that there is "diplomatic momentum." The two leaders are expected to hold talks on the 22nd during this week's United Nations General Assembly, U.S. online outlet Axios reported.

Strikes on Russian oil refineries were addressed as an agenda item during the call. Citing sources familiar with the conversation, Axios reported that President Trump repeatedly urged President Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian refinery facilities, with the word "diesel" coming up multiple times during the discussion. Previously, President Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, but neither side confirmed the deal and strikes persisted afterward, according to the FT.

Rustem Umerov, chief negotiator for President Zelenskyy and head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, told Axios that obstacles to ending the war have narrowed from dozens down to effectively "one or two core issues." He said "the trend is positive" and noted that the U.S. is focused on bringing an end to the war.

                                                                                                                Ha Man-ju