Ukraine's drone attacks caused turmoil for Russians throughout summer
[September 03, 2026]
By DASHA LITVINOVA
There were long lines at gas pumps, turning each fill-up into an ordeal.
Flights to vacation destinations were canceled, delayed or rerouted.
Online orders were disrupted as e-commerce hubs were set ablaze by
buzzing drones.
It's been a difficult summer for Russians — a season of almost daily
turmoil, frustration and anxiety.
The war that President Vladimir Putin unleashed on Ukraine 4½ years ago
has come home and is harder to ignore. Nightly swarms of drones closed
Russian airports, struck oil refineries or set ablaze the warehouses of
retail giants Wildberries and Ozon.
Over 43,300 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russia and illegally
annexed Crimea in June, July and August, according to Defense Ministry
data compiled by The Associated Press, although some clearly hit their
targets. In the same period last summer, about 7,700 were intercepted,
the ministry said.
“We were living a normal life, and then suddenly it’s like this,”
retiree Margarita Terekhova said about having to wait in line to fill up
her car in Moscow, part of the nationwide fuel crisis from attacks on
refineries that persisted into August.
As the calendar turns toward autumn, increased awareness of the war and
its consequences comes at a challenging time for the Kremlin. A
parliamentary election takes place Sept. 18-20 — the first since the
full-scale invasion.
While there's little doubt about the outcome of the tightly controlled
balloting that features few opposition candidates for the State Duma,
analysts say it still holds potential for political volatility.
“Elections are a time when people should reflect on themselves, the
country, where it’s going and what to do about it,” said Nikolay Petrov,
senior research fellow at the NEST Centre, founded by exiled tycoon and
opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Even in a strictly controlled environment, “things that are unexpected,
inconvenient (and) painful for the authorities” can happen, Petrov said.
Russia's mood has shifted
The summer's first major attack came June 3, when an oil terminal
outside St. Petersburg was struck just as Putin's signature economic
forum there got underway. Since then, Ukraine hit refineries, along with
Wildberries and Ozon warehouses — from Moscow to Yekaterinburg in the
Ural Mountains, to Omsk in Siberia.
That intensified campaign — with its expanded geography and a growing
number of drones — shocked Russians, says Denis Volkov, director of the
country’s top independent pollster, the Levada Center.
Ukraine has not disclosed how many drones it launches, but President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has talked about expanding the strikes, which he
calls “long-range sanctions.” Officials in Kyiv say they will continue
trying to pressure Russia into ending the war, even as Moscow
intensifies its bombardment of Ukraine.
The attacks have remained the most noteworthy topic for two months this
summer, Volkov told AP.
Social media documented gas station queues or travelers stranded by
canceled flights. Tearful entrepreneurs told followers their inventory
was destroyed at the stricken warehouses.
Images of massive fires at oil refineries and warehouses showed up
online despite restrictions on publication of content detailing the
attacks.
While the shock over this summer's events has since eased, Volkov said,
there is a longer-term downward trend that sociologists have tracked
since last year: a worsening assessment of Russia’s economic situation
and declining approvals of top politicians.
Putin’s traditionally high approval rating has fallen somewhat this
year. Data from the Levada Center showed it at 76% in August, down from
87% in September 2025.
Chris Weafer, CEO of the Macro-Advisory Ltd. consultancy that works in
Moscow, said there's more awareness of the war and less complacency
about it.
“People are grumbling more, they’re talking more,” he said, with a
striking level of pessimism, especially in the business community, about
the prospects for its end.
Rumors of a possible mobilization
There also appears to be nervousness fueled by persistent rumors of an
impending troop mobilization — like the widely unpopular one in
September 2022 that drafted 300,000 men.
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials maintain Putin is planning
another mobilization after the Duma election — claims the Kremlin calls
“hoaxes.”
[to top of second column]
|
Smoke rises after a Ukrainian drone strikes on warehouses of the
online retailer Wildberries in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday,
July 24, 2026, with St. Isaac's Cathedral in foreground. (UGC via
AP, File)
That has prompted some Russians to leave the country. One
23-year-old Muscovite told AP she left last month with her husband,
worried he might be drafted into the army.
The young woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of
concerns for her safety, also spoke of the fear she felt from
Ukrainian attacks. She believes many feel exhaustion from the war,
which can now affect “the life of any person in any corner of the
country,” she said.
Volkov said some anxiety over a new mobilization has long lurked in
the background but flared up slightly last year after U.S.-led peace
efforts stalled with no end to the war in sight.
People “don’t want (the conflict) to expand and more people to be
dragged into it against their will, and this breeds certain concern,
anxiety,” he said.
Authorities don't want a war debate
Volkov and Weafer said this increased awareness and the dampened
mood aren't translating into anti-war demonstrations, public unrest
or even enough protest votes to affect the balloting.
But things like turnout and “debate ahead of the election” still
matter to authorities, Weafer said, even with an all-but-certain
outcome.
Petrov pointed to the Yabloko party, the longtime voice of the
liberal opposition that campaigns for an end to the war. It
initially was allowed onto the ballot, and its young supporters
flooded social media with videos promoting the party.
But on Aug. 10, the Supreme Court kicked Yabloko off the ballot,
leaving it to compete only in single constituency races. Ten days
later, the head of its Moscow office, Kirill Goncharov, told
reporters the party, with about 4,000 members, received 8,000 new
applications to join.
“The context of the summer of 2026 is that there is a demand for
peace,” Goncharov said.
Yabloko’s slogans resonated with young voters, and that “upended the
Kremlin’s calculation” of giving people a relatively safe outlet for
their discontent, Petrov said.
Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center said
Yabloko's removal showed that authorities did not want the election
campaign to become a debate “for and against peace.”
Petrov said the Kremlin needs elections “as a demonstration of its
great legitimacy.” It doesn’t care so much about the results, since
it largely controls all the parties anyway.
“Elections, like in Soviet times, should demonstrate the complete
loyalty of all citizens," he said, adding that the vote should send
a signal that Putin and the Kremlin have everything under control,
and that people are ready to do “whatever authorities ask of them.”
Ukraine says more turmoil is ahead for Russia
Russians interviewed in Moscow this week about how they spent their
summer recounted contented moments, but they also described living
with the effects of daily drone attacks.
Natalya Bazhenova from Chita in Siberia told AP she waited two full
days in line for gasoline. Visiting the Voronezh region near the
Ukrainian border, she got constant texts warning of drones but heard
no explosions.
Ksenia Smirnova said her family canceled a flight to a Black Sea
resort and is going by train instead to avoid problems.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy issued an ominous warning to airlines
operating in Russia that the risks could continue.
“Although the Russian authorities are not properly informing people
about this, Russian airspace will effectively be closing — the war
started by Russia is closing its skies,” he said. “For now, the
skies over Russia are for drones — not for civilian aviation.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
