A series of Ukrainian drone strikes has targeted two major logistics warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, resulting in eight deaths and 62 injuries. According to Russian officials, the attacks occurred across two separate regions, causing significant damage and casualties.
In the city of Tambov, located roughly 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow, seven people were killed and 25 were injured. Evgeniy Pervyshov, the governor of the Tambov region, confirmed that seven workers on the night shift died at the scene. He noted that 28 drones were intercepted in the area, describing the incident as the "largest and most inhumane" attack on the region, with many of the injuries caused by shrapnel.
A second strike took place at a Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal, within the Moscow region, where one person was killed and 37 were injured. Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, stated that eight of those injured are in serious condition. He reported that a total of 48 drones were shot down in the Moscow region overnight, and that a falling drone struck a Russian oil depot, causing what he described as the incident with the "most serious consequences."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the operations, stating that the strikes targeted "major logistics facilities" utilized to "supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment." Zelensky added that the attacks were a response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and communities, noting that 14 people had been killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine overnight leading into Wednesday. He also confirmed that Ukraine had struck an oil facility during the same campaign, which included operations in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, and Russian-annexed Crimea.
Tatyana Kim, the CEO of Wildberries, described the event as a "terrible night" for both the company and Russia. Emergency services, including firefighters and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, have been working at the scenes of the strikes.
This escalation follows a trend of intensified long-range drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian energy infrastructure. Kyiv has claimed that nearly 43% of Russia's oil refining capacity has been disabled by these operations, though these figures remain unverified. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously acknowledged that fuel shortages were being caused by these attacks, leading to new legislation aimed at bolstering domestic fuel supplies. Ukraine maintains that these facilities are legitimate targets, as Russia relies on fossil fuel exports to finance its ongoing invasion.
Wildberries is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. The merged RWB group, which combines Wildberries with advertising company Russ, was valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) by Forbes Russia in 2026.
Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
