Ukrainian drone strikes targeted multiple locations across Russia overnight and into Saturday afternoon, resulting in nine deaths and leaving more than 80 people wounded. The attacks represent a continuation of Kyiv’s aerial campaign against Russian energy infrastructure and military targets, which officials state is intended to undermine Moscow’s war effort and demonstrate the consequences of the ongoing invasion. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defenses intercepted 379 Ukrainian drones across 19 Russian regions, as well as over the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea.
Targets hit in Moscow and Tambov regions
Two large warehouses belonging to the online retailer Wildberries were struck by drones overnight. The facility in Kotovsk, located in the Tambov region approximately 360 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, suffered seven fatalities among night shift workers, with 25 others wounded, according to Tambov regional Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov. Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim confirmed both warehouses caught fire, though the blaze in Kotovsk was later extinguished.
In the Moscow region, a facility in Elektrostal, situated about 50 kilometers east of Moscow, was also hit. Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that a total of 61 people were wounded in the region, with 40 hospitalized and one person dying from their injuries. Footage from the scene showed a fire burning at the Elektrostal facility. Drone debris also struck a kindergarten in Elektrostal, causing a fire that officials said was subsequently put out.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Telegram that the strikes targeted significant logistical facilities
used to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment. Serhii Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, told the BBC that Wildberries serves as a vital component
of Russian logistics, noting that the platform has been used by volunteers to purchase military gear such as body armor, walkie-talkies, and drone parts.
Infrastructure and residential impacts
Beyond the warehouses, Ukrainian drones targeted energy and residential sites. An oil depot in Noginsk, located north of Elektrostal, was struck, sparking a fire that forced the evacuation of a residential building and a nearby maternity hospital. In the city of Vladimir, roughly 180 kilometers east of Moscow, a drone hit a residential building, causing a fire. Governor Alexander Avdeyev reported that there were no casualties in that incident. Additionally, on Saturday afternoon, a separate drone attack in the Belgorod region resulted in one death and one injury, according to local authorities.
Military and special operations
Ukrainian forces also conducted operations against military and logistical targets in the Black and Azov seas and occupied territories. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the Noginsk oil depot was targeted because it supplied the Russian armed forces. The Ukrainian military reported hitting several vessels, including: * Two tankers * Two floating cranes * A tugboat * A Project 10410 Svetlyak-class patrol ship, which was struck in Kerch. The General Staff also reported a strike on a railway bridge over the Bila River near Sabivka in the occupied Luhansk region, citing its use by Russia for military logistics. President Zelenskyy confirmed that special operations were conducted in the Sea of Azov and occupied territories, further expanding the scope of the weekend’s strikes.
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