Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces targeted 10 Ukrainian regions from the evening of September 20 through the night, leaving eight people injured and killing a woman in a drone strike in the Kharkiv region.
Zaporizhzhia came under what Zelenskyy described as a deliberate Russian attack. Nine-storey residential buildings, a university facility, a shopping mall and a boiler house were damaged, while five people were injured and some residents had to be evacuated.
In Lozova, located in the Kharkiv region, a woman died in a drone strike and three others were injured. Zelenskyy expressed condolences to the victim’s family.
The Ukrainian president said Russia was continuing its escalation and argued that diplomatic engagement should proceed alongside increased pressure on Moscow. He called on world leaders gathering for the United Nations General Assembly to work jointly towards peace.
Zelenskyy said Russia was showing no signs of retreat and was sending signals that it could widen the war. He maintained that responses and long-range sanctions were contributing to pressure on Moscow, but added that diplomacy must continue at the same time.
Separately, more than 1,000 drones were launched by Ukraine towards Moscow and the Moscow region on Sunday during a period of heightened military activity. Russian officials said at least two people were killed and that a major oil refinery was damaged.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin alleged that the drone attacks were intended to disrupt Russia’s State Duma elections. Ukraine did not independently confirm the allegation.
The developments occurred as Russia’s ruling United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, secured 57.5 per cent of the initial vote after three days of polling concluded on Sunday. The final results are expected to be completed by September 25.
These were the first State Duma elections held since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin had portrayed the election as a measure of public backing for Russia’s military and political direction.
Putin said the voters’ choice and determination would demonstrate that millions of people supported Russian forces and remained united by shared values, historical memory and their love for the motherland.
The polling took place in a tightly controlled political environment, with meaningful opposition largely absent. Russia’s Yabloko party was barred by the Supreme Court from contesting the federal party-list election last month.
The Central Election Commission recorded voter turnout at 56.66 per cent. United Russia had won 324 of the State Duma’s 450 seats in the 2021 election.
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Zelenskyy in New York on Tuesday as Washington seeks to reduce tensions. The talks are expected to focus on lowering hostilities and restarting negotiations.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, who also leads the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service, has been coordinating with White House envoys to organise the discussions.
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