Ukraine launches its largest attack on Moscow: Military expert reacts

Ukraine hit Moscow and. the surrounding area overnight, with one of the largest ever drone. attacks on the Russian capital. Video showed the extent of the damage. in residential areas. At least three people were killed. and a major oil refinery was damaged. The latest attack comes on the final day. of parliamentary elections in Russia. But the ruling pro-Putin party. nearly certain to win. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest. As far as Moscow's mayor is concerned, this was the largest Ukrainian. drone attack. against the capital since the war began.

Now, he said that. there were some 1600 drones. that were shot down across Russia. since Saturday. 450 of them, he says, were targeting the capital itself. Now, authorities. say at least two people were killed. Some 20 people were injured, including three children. We do see. footage of a residential building. that appears to have been struck. And also images of one of the biggest oil.

refineries in the region, at least in terms of volume. Now, this was video. that was posted by Ukrainian. President Volodymyr. Zelensky as he praised the attacks. He says that facilities targeted. were bringing. in billions of dollars. that sustain the war machine. Moscow's mayor. said he believes that these attacks. were intended to try and disrupt. the ongoing election, something. which Zelensky did not mention. Sunday does mark. the third and final day.

of the first parliamentary elections. across Russia. since the full scale invasion. of Ukraine back in 2022. They are widely expected to go. Vladimir Putin's way. and his party is expected to work to win. Critics say that these are not fair. and they are not free elections, as there is no credible opposition. Now, what we also saw. was Russia. continuing its significant attacks. against Ukraine. We have seen near-constant.

aerial attacks for almost a month. now against Ukraine. In the latest barrage. We understand three children. and one woman has been killed. We hear from Kiev authorities. We also heard from President. Zelenskyy on Sunday, putting this into context, saying that this week alone, more than 2000 attack drones, 1700. aerial bombs. and 19 missiles have been fired by Russia. against Ukraine.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi. I do want to move to the war in Ukraine. because Ukraine managed its largest. drone attack. that we've ever seen on Moscow, and it hit a major oil. refinery after President Trump. had demanded that Ukraine stop hitting. Russian oil targets, because, of course, it's adding to the price hikes, particularly in diesel fuel. in the United States. What do you make of this escalation? What does it tell you about capabilities. and where we are in in this war?

I have a one word. response for the Ukrainians, which is congratulations. They need to increase these strikes. and doing so is the only way. they can put pressure on Vladimir Putin. They are the victims here. They were invaded by Russia. Human rights violations. by the hour in attacks. by the Russians on Ukrainian cities. So I think going after the Russian.

oil structure is a legitimate target set. And then to your question. about capabilities, this was, to my eye, the largest drone strike. Ukrainians have put together. Over a thousand drones. may be approaching 2000. That's a big military operation. It's the only way. the Ukrainians can go. after Russia in an effective way. I support their doing so. I want to talk about what's going on. with the war in Ukraine. We saw this this big assault on Moscow.

I believe the biggest one we've seen. since the war started. Sabrina. And President Trump. is due to meet with Ukraine's. President Zelensky. on the sidelines of the Unga. What can we expect from this meeting? Well, you know, it's interesting. Today the president on Truth Social. put out a post that essentially indicated. that he was blaming Russia. for some of the diesel shortages. that the world is seeing. So it's an interesting change of tone. from where we were back in February. 2025, where, you know,

that infamous Oval Office meeting. I think what you're going to see here. from this meeting. that is going to happen on the sidelines, is Ukraine. once again pressing the United States. for some of the interceptors. that it needs? We know that this could be a very, not just dangerous, but an essential winter. where we know Russia's. going to target their energy supplies. And we saw that last winter. And so going into this winter, they're going to want to make sure. that they are well stocked. on their defensive capabilities. Of course, we know this is also something. that the United States is running. well short of in the war in Iran.

So I think you're going to see Zelenskyy. push for that, and then you're going to see, I think Zelenskyy reiterate. that we are ready to move forward. with some type of peace agreement. But Russia's not serious. about coming to the table. to negotiate some type of ceasefire. So we'll see what happens. after these meetings. It's a good thing. that they're meeting on the sidelines. But the result, I think, remains to be seen. We're joined now. by CNN contributor. and former CNN Moscow. bureau chief Jill Dougherty. Joe, good to see you. Thank you for joining us on this very, very interesting evening. We don't have. the final election results yet, but there is likely a few surprises.

What message is Putin. sending by holding elections. now while the war is still very active? Yeah, well, you're absolutely right. There's no question that, the Kremlin allied party, United. Russia will win. This is preordained, but I think really. this is an exercise. for Putin to show his message, which is unity. that the country supports his war. against Ukraine.

And, you know, that's what he wants to prove. So the question really is more. what he wants. to show rather. than the results of this election. Well, let's talk. a little bit more about this, because last month, Ukrainian President. Zelensky warned. that Russia was preparing to mobilize. at least. 300,000 troops following the elections. So is this. is is that potential posturing. and also these elections? Does it all point to Putin. looking to strengthen his war mandate?

Well, that's certainly you know, if you look at what the Russian people. and it's very hard to judge. exactly what they are. thinking at this point. But there is a lot of concern in Russia. about what will happen. after this election, because the things that are hanging over. Russians heads are mobilization, as you mentioned, at the beginning of the war, essentially they mobilize 300,000 men. And now the the concern.

is that. obviously they need. more, troops. going to the front. and that there could be. another mobilization, but politically, it would be almost impossible for, President Putin to do that. before the election. It would be very unpopular. So many in the populace. think it could happen. after this election. And now it's almost after that election. And then, Danny, there are other concerns, too, is could go up.

to the, control of the internet. that has been really mammoth. over the past few months. that could happen. That could happen even more. So I think it's kind of like. waiting for the other shoe to drop. for many Russians, who don't know. where this war really is going, either. I'm curious. It's not just who is on the ballot, of course, in these Russian elections, but also who is missing. Notably, the only anti-war party.

was blocked from participating. I mean, again, is in this particular. environment, is there any credible challenge. to Putin's power? Oh, I will have to say no. First of all, the. the election is engineered beforehand. to make sure that only the parties. that are either, you know, pro-Kremlin. or even created by the Kremlin, you know, there's a new political party. that's called New People.

And that's kind of to siphon off. some of the more. liberal members of society, people who live in, big cities. And but it's it's essentially a, party. that's controlled by the Kremlin. So, no, there's really, you know, nothing credible. And the biggest threat, if you want to call that, to the Kremlin, was actually the public. It's that is the Russian word for apple. That party has been around. for a very long time.

They're an established party, but they are the only party. that was anti-war. And so that is why. they were not permitted. to participate. as a party in this election. So again, we're back to the point. that the election, per se. is not really the issue. It's the messaging. and the kind of, you know, the message. that President Putin wants to get out, that the country is behind him. and supports him. Right. And what actions he may then justify,

because of that messaging? Jill, one of the things that, President Zelensky said that he spoke. with President Trump today. and had agreed to meet in New York. as the U.N. General Assembly takes place this week, following the visit. two weeks ago by the U.S. envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve. would to Moscow and Kiev. It's interesting. because it really hasn't. been any movement. in efforts to end the war. So what are you reading into. this potential meeting. that will happen with President. Trump and Zelensky coming this week?

You know, it's very hard to predict this. because the American administration. really has been back and forth. You know, between. pressuring Zelensky, not pressuring Zelensky, trying to pressure Putin. and then allowing him. to do pretty much what he wants. So at this stage, they have. the administration has sent Kushner. and Wyckoff to Moscow and to Kiev, as we know, they came back with essentially nothing.

They are looking for new ideas. In fact, that's a phrase that they. but both men are using new ideas. And the only new ideas that I really can. perceive are, to offer business deals to Russia. And that's exactly. what President Putin wants. So, I at this point, I cannot see that there will be a lot. of progress, quite honestly.