Eight Killed in Ukrainian Drone Attacks Across Russia
Ukrainian strikes triggered massive smoke plumes after targeting strategic facilities deep inside Russia. Image Credit: X/@ZelenskyyUa
New Delhi: At least eight people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia overnight and on Sunday, regional officials said. Russia’s defence ministry said air defences shot down 635 Ukrainian drones during the night. The attacks also targeted a Wildberries warehouse and other sites deep inside Russian territory.
In Belgorod, three people were killed and five injured in Ukrainian strikes, the local task force reported. Separately, the region’s acting governor, Alexander Shuvayev, said a drone struck an area next to a playground, killing one child and injuring two.
Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, called the playground strike “another inhumane terrorist act.”
In Saratov, governor Roman Busargin said a strike on a residential building in Engels killed two people and damaged civil infrastructure in both Engels and Saratov city. In Udmurtia, acting governor Olga Abramova said a drone attack killed three people and injured two others.
Wildberries warehouse hit in Samara
Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries warehouse in Russia’s Samara region, around 800 kilometres from Ukraine’s most advanced military positions, according to Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. He said the strike sparked a fire but caused no casualties, with firefighters deployed to contain the blaze.
According to Reuters, Ukraine has attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18 as part of its campaign to strike economic and energy targets deep inside Russia. Wildberries is Russia’s largest online retailer, often described as the country’s equivalent of Amazon. The company has become a recurring target in Ukraine’s campaign to disrupt Russia’s wartime logistics and broader economy.
Military and energy targets also struck
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukrainian forces struck the Saratov oil refinery and the Engels military airbase, both located more than 600 km from the front line. He also said Ukrainian forces hit the tank farm of the Lyudinovskaya oil depot in Russia’s Kaluga region and carried out a precision strike on a site in Bryansk used to store, prepare and launch attack drones.
In Bashkortostan, governor Radiy Khabirov said air defence units repelled a large drone attack on industrial facilities. One drone was shot down over the industrial area of Ufa, the regional capital, where a fire was being extinguished.
Russia strikes back
Russia’s defence ministry said its own forces struck infrastructure and two vessels carrying military cargo in the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, along with a separate vessel carrying military supplies in the Black Sea.
In Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian glide bomb attacks killed one person and injured 21 others.
