Drone Offensive Targets Logistics Sites Near Moscow, Russian Officials Report
A series of Ukrainian drone attacks across Russia has killed at least seven warehouse employees and injured dozens of people, according to Russian regional officials. The strikes also triggered a fire at an oil facility near Moscow, authorities said Saturday.
Officials reported that drones hit a warehouse operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, in the city of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, located southeast of Moscow. Regional Governor Evgeniy Pervyshov said seven night-shift workers were killed at the site, while 25 others were injured.
Pervyshov said Russian air defenses intercepted multiple drones during the attack and claimed the number of casualties could have been higher without the defensive response. Russian authorities did not provide independent verification of the claims.
Another drone strike was reported at a Wildberries logistics facility in Elektrostal, a city in the Moscow region. Governor Andrei Vorobyov said 24 people were injured in that attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes targeted facilities involved in supporting Russia’s military production network, including locations linked to drone manufacturing and navigation equipment. He also said an energy-related site was among the targets.
In Noginsk, another city in the Moscow region, drone debris caused a fire at an oil depot, according to regional officials. Authorities said two people were injured and that a nearby maternity hospital was temporarily evacuated as a precaution.
Wildberries CEO and co-founder Tatyana Kim described the incident as a devastating event for the company and expressed condolences to the families of those killed.
The attacks come amid continued long-range drone operations between Russia and Ukraine, with both sides targeting military-related infrastructure and strategic facilities as the war continues.
