Eight people were killed and more than 60 others were injured after Ukraine launched overnight drone attacks on multiple Russian regions, according to Russian officials. The strikes targeted warehouses, an oil depot and other sites, highlighting Kyiv's continued push to hit infrastructure and military-linked facilities far from the frontline.
The attacks come as Ukraine intensifies its long-range aerial campaign against Russia, aiming to disrupt Moscow's war effort and bring the impact of the conflict closer to Russian territory. The war, triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is now well into its fifth year.
Strategic Targets Under Fire
Two warehouses belonging to Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, were among the key targets. One warehouse in Kotovsk, in the Tambov region around 360 km from the Ukrainian border, and another in Elektrostal, about 50 km east of Moscow, were hit by drones overnight.
Both facilities caught fire. Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim later said the blaze at the Kotovsk warehouse had been extinguished. Videos and images shared by Russian online outlets showed thick smoke and flames engulfing the Elektrostal warehouse.
A Ukrainian drone also struck an oil depot in Noginsk, north of Elektrostal, triggering a fire. The incident forced authorities to evacuate a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building, Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had struck two "significant logistical facilities" in the Moscow and Tambov regions. According to him, the sites were being used to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment. He also confirmed that an oil facility had been hit.
Rising Human Cost as War Reaches Deeper into Russia
Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said seven night-shift workers were killed at the Kotovsk warehouse and 25 others were injured. In the Moscow region, 37 people were wounded, with one later dying in hospital, Vorobyov said.
In Elektrostal, falling drone debris struck a kindergarten building, causing a fire that was later brought under control.
Another drone hit a residential building in the city of Vladimir, around 180 km east of Moscow, sparking a brief fire. Vladimir Governor Alexander Avdeyev said there were no casualties in that incident.
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian special operations carried out strikes against targets in the Sea of Azov and in Russian-occupied territory.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted 379 Ukrainian drones overnight across 19 Russian regions, as well as over the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
The latest wave of attacks underscores Ukraine's growing ability to strike deep inside Russia, while also reflecting the increasingly expansive nature of a conflict that continues to widen beyond the battlefield.
