Drone strikes in Russia kill at least eight as attacks widen
Local officials said Ukrainian drones hit warehouses in Tambov and Moscow regions, while Russia struck port infrastructure in Odesa.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Drone attacks in western Russia killed at least eight people and injured dozens on Saturday, local officials said, as Russia and Ukraine continued trading strikes far from the front line. The reported toll marked one of the deadliest days for Russian territory from Ukrainian drone attacks since the full-scale war began.
Tambov Governor Evgeniy Pervyshov said on Telegram that drones hit a Wildberries logistics site in Kotovsk, killing seven employees who were working the night shift. He said 25 other people were injured, including one in critical condition and six in serious condition, with most wounds caused by shrapnel.
Pervyshov said air defences intercepted 28 drones. He said the number of civilian casualties could have been far higher if more drones had reached their targets.
In the Moscow region, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said a separate strike hit another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal, killing at least one person and injuring 37. Vorobyov said some of the wounded were in serious condition.
Vorobyov also said a drone attack started a fire at an oil depot in Noginsk, also in the Moscow region, and injured two people.
Al Jazeera correspondent Dmitry Medvedenko, reporting from Moscow, said Saturday’s combined toll of dead and wounded was the highest from Ukrainian attacks inside Russia in three years.
Kyiv says warehouses served military supply chain
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media that the two Wildberries warehouses were significant logistics facilities. He said they were used to support supplies of sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian medium-range strikes hit targets in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Al Jazeera reported that Ukraine has been trying to intensify attacks aimed at cutting energy and weapons flows to Russia’s front line as the war enters its fifth year.
Wildberries is Russia’s largest online retailer, according to Al Jazeera. The governors’ statements did not give further details on the warehouses’ operations.
Russia strikes Odesa port infrastructure
Ukrainian officials also reported fresh Russian attacks. Odesa Governor Oleh Kipper said a large Russian strike on the city’s port infrastructure killed at least one person, injured three and damaged facilities.
Kipper said Russia also attacked a vessel flying the Antigua and Barbuda flag. He did not provide further details in the report cited by Al Jazeera.
The latest attacks followed a week of political upheaval in Ukraine. Al Jazeera reported that Zelenskyy dismissed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on Wednesday, six months after he took the post.
Fedorov, 35, had led an expansion of Ukraine’s drone industry, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet reported that he promoted AI-enabled drones designed to identify targets without communications links that Russia could jam, and backed wider use of ground robots for supply runs, ammunition delivery and evacuating wounded soldiers.
Al Jazeera reported that Fedorov’s dismissal prompted protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Thursday and Friday.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.