Eight people were killed after waves of Ukrainian drones struck warehouses in Russia’s Moscow and Tambov regions on Saturday, triggering massive fires that sent thick black smoke billowing across the sky for hours.
DDM gathered that the attacks are the latest in Kyiv’s campaign to take the war deeper into Russian territory. Ukrainian officials describe the long-range strikes as retaliation for more than four years of Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
In recent months, Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russia’s energy facilities in what it calls “long-range sanctions”—a strategy that has disrupted fuel supplies across one of the world’s largest oil-producing nations.
Saturday’s strikes hit two major logistics centres belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. The attacks destroyed large sections of the facilities and killed workers on the night shift.
“A terrible night, terrible events for our company and for our country. It is a pain that cannot be put into words,” Wildberries Chief Executive Tatiana Kim said.
An AFP journalist at the scene reported seeing thick black smoke hanging over parts of the Moscow region well into the afternoon.
Tambov Governor Evgeny Pervyshov said seven employees died after Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries logistics centre in the region, about 500 kilometres southeast of Moscow.
In the Moscow region, another Wildberries warehouse was hit alongside an oil depot. Governor Andrei Vorobyov said one person later died in hospital from injuries sustained in the attack.
Firefighters continued battling the blaze at the Elektrostal warehouse outside Moscow hours after the strike, while authorities said the fire in Tambov had been brought under control. Vorobyov added that an empty kindergarten in Elektrostal was also damaged, though no casualties were reported.
Officials said nearly 60 people were injured in the attacks and taken to hospital.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 370 drones were launched toward the Russian capital overnight. He added that air defence systems had intercepted nearly 1,900 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow between July 11 and July 18.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks were carried out in response to continued Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
“In response to Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities, two major logistics facilities were hit in the Moscow and Tambov regions,” Zelensky wrote on X.
He alleged that the warehouses were being used to supply sanctioned components for drone manufacturing and navigation equipment.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued. In the southern port city of Odesa, one person was killed and 13 others injured as Russian forces intensified strikes on Black Sea port infrastructure.
Ukraine’s sustained attacks on Russian oil facilities have increasingly disrupted everyday life across Russia. Fuel shortages have spread to nearly 90% of the country’s regions since June, forcing motorists to queue at petrol stations in a nation where fuel has traditionally been abundant and inexpensive.
Despite the escalating drone campaign, fighting along the front line has slowed, with Ukraine appearing to have stalled Russia’s summer offensive.
Diplomatic efforts led by the United States to end the war have also lost momentum as Washington shifts its attention to the conflict with Iran.
