ReadNOW

Seven warehouse workers were killed and another 25 people were injured when Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries logistics center in Tambov Region, Russia overnight, Governor Evgeny Pervyshov has said.

The attack hit the online retailer’s facility in the city of Kotovsk, where the victims were working night shift. The injured were taken to hospitals in Kotovsk and the regional capital, Tambov, Pervyshov said, adding that the authorities would provide assistance to the families of those killed.

Ambulances, firefighters, emergency personnel, and law enforcement officers were dispatched to the scene. The fire at the warehouse was extinguished, although firefighting efforts continued, according to the governor.

The drones were equipped with shrapnel to maximize casualties, Pervyshov added, describing the incident as a premeditated terrorist attack targeting civilians.

Another Wildberries logistics center was also attacked overnight in Elektrostal, around 50 km east of Moscow, the company said. Fire crews and emergency services worked at the site after employees were evacuated. Twenty-four people were injured, according to Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov.

The attack was part of a larger Ukrainian drone raid on Moscow Region. A drone crashed on the grounds of an oil depot in Noginsk, an industrial city around 35 km east of Moscow, causing a fire. As a precaution, the authorities evacuated a nearby maternity hospital, transferring all patients and staff to other medical facilities. An apartment block in the city was also evacuated.

Another massive drone raid was launched toward Moscow. More than 370 UAVs flew in the direction of the Russian capital since 8:30 PM on Friday, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said. Most were neutralized by Russian air defenses at long range, while 64 were destroyed on approach to the capital, he added.

In neighboring Vladimir Region, one drone struck an apartment in a residential building in the city of Vladimir and sparked a fire, Governor Aleksandr Avdeev said. People were evacuated while emergency services extinguished the flames.

The latest barrage follows another large-scale attack on Thursday, when more than 200 drones were launched toward Moscow, most of which were also intercepted far from the capital.

Russia has described the strikes as indiscriminate terrorist attacks intended to divert attention away from Ukraine’s setbacks on the battlefield and has responded with a renewed campaign of long-range strikes targeting dual-use and military-industrial sites.

Most of the Russian strikes have focused on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with military plants, drone assembly and storage facilities, and weapons stockpiles targeted in recent weeks.