Ukraine deploys new 6-ton missile to hit Moscow and Russian refineries —and the result was devastating

Read the original at New York Post ↗
New York Post · collected 2026-09-20 · by Ronny Reyes

Quick Summary

Ukraine launched a significant missile and drone assault on Moscow and Russian refineries using its new FP-5 Flamingo missiles, which weigh 6 tons each and have a range of nearly 2,000 miles. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the attack caused substantial damage to Russia’s oil industry, particularly at the Gazpromneft-Moscow Oil Refinery, with fires breaking out and significant civilian casualties reported by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. The strike coincided with Russian-held elections in occupied Ukrainian territories, potentially aimed at disrupting the voting process.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On September 20, 2026, Ukraine launched what was described as the largest drone attack ever against the Russian capital, Moscow, during the final day of Russia's parliamentary elections. More than 1,600 drones were intercepted and shot down across Russia, with 450 targeting Moscow specifically. Two people were killed in the attacks: a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man, both in separate incidents in the Moscow region. Additionally, a major oil refinery near Moscow was damaged by one of the drones.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin accused Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the tightly controlled elections, which were held from September 18-20. President Vladimir Putin's ruling party is expected to maintain its dominance in the vote, reflecting his ongoing control over Russian politics since New Year’s Eve 1999.

Ukraine has been stepping up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure recently, targeting critical revenue sources for Russia's war effort in Ukraine, which entered its fifth year. The timing of these drone strikes coincided with Putin’s framing of the election as a referendum on support for his military actions.

Written for “Ukraine Drone Attacks Moscow” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 28 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ukraine Drone Attacks Moscow
Politics · 29 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
War in Ukraine: Odesa and Sumy suffer fires and casualties in new Russian attacks different event · 95%
Euronews
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 7 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe different attacks occurring on distinct dates and locations in Ukraine and Russia, with one detailing Russian strikes in Odesa and Sumy causing casualties and damage, while the other reports Ukrainian counterstrikes against Moscow using newly developed missiles.”
Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine injure at least 16, including children different event · 95%
CBC News
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“The articles describe different attacks with distinct timing and targets: one is Russian strikes on Ukraine injuring at least 16 people, including children; the other is Ukraine's retaliatory strike using new missiles targeting Moscow and Russian refineries.”
Fire engulfs Zaporizhzhia shopping centre after Russian strike different event · 95%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles describe two distinct military actions: a strike on a shopping center in Zaporizhzhia and a missile attack on Moscow and Russian refineries.”
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“The articles describe different attacks: one by Russia on Ukraine and another by Ukraine on Russia.”
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BBC News
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“Article A describes Russia's missile attacks on Kyiv, while Article B reports on Ukraine's counterattack against Moscow and Russian refineries.”
Ukraine pummels Moscow with drones on last day of Russian election same event · 95%
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 9 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe Ukraine launching a major drone and missile attack on Moscow during the last day of Russia's parliamentary election, causing casualties and striking the oil refinery.”
Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia including largest attack on Moscow same event · 95%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles describe Ukraine launching an attack with over 1,000 drones on Russia and specifically mention Moscow being targeted.”
Two dead in massive Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow region, oil refinery same event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 10 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe a large-scale drone attack on Moscow and an oil refinery involving multiple casualties, indicating they are reporting on the same specific incident.”
Ukrainian drones target Moscow, oil refinery in deadly attack, Russian officials say same event · 95%
ABC News (US)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 16% hedged 3 of 19 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe a single drone attack on Moscow and an oil refinery, with similar details about casualties, timing, and targets.”
Huge fires rage in Moscow as Ukraine strikes Russian capital's biggest oil refinery in massive drone attack on the last day of election same event · 95%
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 3 of 31 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe a significant Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow's oil refinery resulting in fires and casualties, occurring on the last day of elections.”

Cite this article

Reyes, R. (2026, September 20). Ukraine deploys new 6-ton missile to hit Moscow and Russian refineries —and the result was devastating. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/20/world-news/ukraine-uses-new-flamingo-missile-to-hit-moscow-and-russian-refineries/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
67/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
29
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Ronny Reyes
41 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 President Trump has suggested that the US, which is at war with Iran, may join Saudi Arabia in launching retaliatory attacks against the Houthis.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 41 articles by Ronny Reyes →

Topics

Moscow Russia Russian Ukraine Ukrainian

Subjects

Russia GPE · 5× Moscow GPE · 4× Russian NORP · 3× Ukraine GPE · 3× Ukrainian NORP · 3× Kyiv GPE · 2× Zelensky PERSON · 2× American NORP · 1× Fire Point ORG · 1× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The dramatic strike, which saw Ukraine fire more than 1,000 drones, utilized the new FP-5 Flamingo missiles to reach the Russian capital, highlighting the power of Kyiv’s longest-range weapon, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 The weapon was revealed to be in production in August 2025, with Zelensky vowing that the 40-foot Flamingo — named after its pink hue during prototype testing — would be Ukraine’s “most successful missile” ever.
2026-09-20 · New York Post
Ukraine deploys new 6-ton missile to hit Moscow and Russian refineries —and the result was devastating · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

The dramatic strike, which saw Ukraine fire more than 1,000 drones, utilized the new FP-5 Flamingo missiles to reach the Russian capital, highlighting the power of Kyiv’s longest-range weapon, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. asserted
Zelensky → see → weapon
The missile was designed and mostly built in Ukraine by defense startup Fire Point — and is reported to be dramatically more powerful than the vaunted American Tomahawk cruise missiles. asserted
missile → design → missiles
It also has a greater range, at nearly 2,000 miles. asserted
It → have → miles
The assault lit up the Gazpromneft-Moscow Oil Refinery, sparking massive fires at the plant that produces some 11.6 million tons of oil a year, according to Russia’s data. uncertain
that → light → data
“Our long-range responses had a very significant impact in the Moscow region last night,” Zelensky touted on X. asserted
Zelensky → have → region
“One of Russia’s key oil industry facilities and the aggressor’s logistics facility were hit. asserted
One → hit → facilities
“These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine,” he added. asserted
he → sustain → machine
Kyiv had previously teased the missile in February when it was used to hit the Kremlin-owned Votkinsk machine plant 860 miles over the border. asserted
it → tease → border
At the time, it was the deepest Ukrainian strike into Russian territory using a domestically made weapons. asserted
it → use → weapons
The weapon was revealed to be in production in August 2025, with Zelensky vowing that the 40-foot Flamingo — named after its pink hue during prototype testing — would be Ukraine’s “most successful missile” ever. asserted
Flamingo → reveal → testing
The Flamingo was deployed alongside the new Pelican ballistic missile, which while sporting a shorter range, is reportedly faster and aimed at overwhelming Russia’s defense systems so as to allow the longer range projectiles to fly unimpeded. uncertain
projectiles → deploy → systems
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the overnight assault as the “largest ever” attack on the Russian capital since the war began, with significant damage reported at the oil refinery. asserted
damage → describe → refinery
Ukrainian strikes against Moscow’s oil refineries have been increasing, triggering oil production shortages, fuel price increases and long lines at the pump across many regions in Russia. asserted
strikes → increase → Russia
Across the wider Moscow region, the attack killed at least two people and wounded another 20, local governor Andrei Vorobyov added. asserted
Vorobyov → kill → 20
Sunday’s strike also came as Russia held voting across five Ukrainian regions currently under its military occupation, including the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula. asserted
Russia → come → peninsula
Sobyanin suggested the attack was aimed at disrupting the elections, which he claimed failed. uncertain
he → suggest → elections
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