Russian officials reported Saturday that seven people lost their lives and 51 others were injured following a large-scale Ukrainian drone assault carried out overnight across multiple Russian regions.
Ukraine has been maintaining a persistent aerial campaign targeting energy infrastructure and military-related sites inside Russian territory, with the goal of weakening Moscow’s ability to wage war and bringing the reality of the conflict home to Russian citizens. The invasion of Ukraine is now well into its fifth year.
According to Russian officials, Ukrainian drones struck two large warehouses belonging to Wildberries, one of Russia’s biggest online retailers. One warehouse was hit in the town of Kotovsk, located in the Tambov region approximately 360 kilometers — or about 220 miles — from the Ukrainian border. A second warehouse was struck in the city of Elektrostal, roughly 50 kilometers, or about 30 miles, east of Moscow.
In a Saturday post on Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that long-range Ukrainian strikes had hit two “significant logistical facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions.”
“These facilities were used by the aggressor to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that an oil facility was also struck in the attacks.
Zelenskyy also noted that Ukrainian special operations forces carried out additional strikes against targets in the Sea of Azov and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
Tambov regional governor Yevgeny Pervyshov confirmed that seven workers on the night shift were killed at the Kotovsk warehouse, with another 25 people wounded there. In Elektrostal, 24 people were injured, according to Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov.
Vorobyov also reported that two additional people were wounded in the Moscow region city of Noginsk, just north of Elektrostal, where a Ukrainian drone strike set an oil depot ablaze. As a safety precaution, a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building were evacuated, he added.
In the city of Vladimir — located about 180 kilometers, or more than 110 miles, east of Moscow — a Ukrainian drone struck a residential building and briefly ignited a fire. Vladimir governor Alexander Avdeyev said no one was hurt in that incident.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defense systems intercepted a total of 379 Ukrainian drones overnight, with the strikes spanning 19 Russian regions as well as the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea.
