Authorities in Moscow say nine people have been killed and more than 60 injured in Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia, while strikes in Kiev targeted logistics centers and set fire to an oil depot.
Kiev has stepped up its long-range drone campaign against Russian energy, military and logistics infrastructure in an effort to weaken Moscow’s ability to sustain its offensive.
What we know about Ukraine’s latest attacks on Russia
Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said Saturday that a drone strike on a warehouse operated by Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, in Kotovsk, Tambov region, killed seven night-shift workers and injured 25 people.
“Seven people who worked the night shift died on the spot,” Pervishov wrote on Telegram. The city is about 360 kilometers (about 220 mi) from the border with Ukraine.
He said Russian air defenses had also shot down 28 drones approaching the area and claimed the number of casualties could be much higher.
A second Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal, about 50 kilometers east of Moscow, was attacked, injuring 37 people, according to Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov. One of those injured in the attack later died from injuries sustained in the attack.
Russian online news outlets released video of a huge plume of smoke at the Elektrostal facility on Saturday.
Burning debris from the strike also caused fires at a maternity hospital and a nearby residential building, Vorobyov said, adding that both fires had been extinguished.
WildBerries co-founder and CEO Tatyana Kim called it a “terrible night” for Russia and the company, which is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Vorobyov said drone debris in nearby Noginsk caused a fire at an oil depot and injured two people.
Authorities evacuated a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building as a precaution. Officials did not immediately provide details of the damage to the oil facility.
A drone also struck a residential building in Vladimir, about 180 kilometers east of Moscow, causing a brief fire. Regional governor Alexander Avdeyev said no one was injured.
A ninth person was reportedly killed and another injured in Russia’s Belgorod region on Saturday afternoon.
Why did Ukraine attack the warehouses?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the long-range strikes had hit two “vital logistics facilities”.
Zelensky said the attacks were carried out “in response to Russian attacks on our civilian infrastructure and our cities and communities.”
“These facilities were used by the attacker to supply components approved for the production of drones and navigation equipment,” he wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian president also said that Ukrainian forces had taken action against targets in the Sea of Azov and Russian-held territory.
Ukraine’s military on Saturday reported targeting Russian oil tankers, floating cranes and a tugboat in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, as well as a patrol ship in Kerch and a railway bridge in the Russian-held Luhansk region.
The head of Ukraine’s drone forces said Saturday’s attacks brought to 172 the number of Russian ships hit in the Black and Azov seas in recent weeks, claiming the efforts had forced Moscow to redeploy frontline troops to maritime positions to protect ships from attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems intercepted 379 Ukrainian drones overnight in 19 areas as well as in Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. It did not comment on the redeployment of the army.
Fresh Russian attack on Ukraine’s Odessa region
Meanwhile, a Russian attack has hit port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odessa region, killing one person and damaging a foreign-flagged ship.
Regional governor Oleh Kipar said on Telegram that the ship, which was sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, was hit during Saturday’s attack. Three other people were injured.
Kipper said the attack also damaged port buildings, storage tanks and warehouses.
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah and Wesley Dockery
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