Eight killed in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian logistics hubs
Sandego.net – Eight killed in Ukrainian drone attacks marks a significant escalation in Kyiv’s long-range operations against Russian infrastructure. According to regional officials, Ukrainian drone strikes have killed at least eight people at warehouses in Russia during coordinated attacks on Saturday. Seven of those killed were working at a distribution center at Kotovsk in the Tambov region. The eighth fatality was at a similar center in Elektrostal in the Moscow region, bringing the total death toll to eight killed in Ukrainian drone operations targeting critical supply facilities.
Targeting Wildberries warehouses
The attacks are the most lethal Ukrainian strikes reported inside Russia in more than two years. Both the facilities struck belonged to a Russian company, Wildberries, a major online retailer that has become an unexpected target in the ongoing conflict. Ukraine says the facilities were used in drone manufacture, making them strategic military assets rather than purely commercial operations. The warehouse in Kotovsk alone covers an impressive 188,000 square meters, making it one of the largest logistics centers in the region.
Twenty-five people were injured, seven of them critically, in the strike in Tambov, according to the region’s governor, Yevgeniy Pervyshov. The drones “were equipped with warheads designed to cause a greater number of casualties,” Pervyshov claimed, adding 28 had been shot down. In addition to the man killed at the plant in Elektrostal, 37 people were injured, eight seriously, according to Andrey Vorobiev, governor of the Moscow region. The coordinated nature of these attacks suggests careful planning by Ukrainian forces.
“Two major logistics facilities were hit – in the Moscow and Tambov regions, more than 500 and nearly 700 kilometers from the front line,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.
Ukraine has acknowledged carrying out the attacks. The facilities were being used “to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment,” according to Zelensky’s statement. “A huge Wildberries warehouse covering 188,000 square meters is blazing brightly,” a Ukrainian military statement said, “and black smoke can be seen for kilometers.” Video from both sides showed large plumes of grey smoke billowing into the sky, visible from considerable distances.
Wildberries said the fire at the Kotovsk site had been contained. Ukraine has until now focused its long-range drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and factories making weapons and military hardware, as well as Russian shipping. This latest operation represents a strategic shift toward targeting logistics and supply chains. Zelensky said that in addition to the warehouse attacks, an oil facility was also struck Saturday – as were additional targets in the Sea of Azov, the gateway to the Black Sea.
In the past two weeks, Ukrainian drones have struck 172 vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, according to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. This broader campaign demonstrates Ukraine’s multi-pronged approach to disrupting Russian operations. The eight killed in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian warehouses represents not just a tactical success but a strategic message about Kyiv’s ability to project power deep into Russian territory.
