Ukraine launches 370-drone barrage at Moscow region

Ukraine launched one of its largest overnight drone barrages toward the Russian capital region on Friday night, killing seven night-shift workers at a logistics center in the Tambov region and igniting fires at an oil depot and a second warehouse closer to Moscow, Russian officials said Saturday.

Deadly Strike on Kotovsk

Seven employees were killed and 24 wounded when drones struck a Wildberries fulfillment center in the town of Kotovsk, Tambov Oblast, according to regional Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov. Wildberries is one of Russia's largest online retailers. The fire at the warehouse was later extinguished, Pervyshov said.kyivindependent+2

The Kyiv Independent reported that explosions were heard in Kotovsk and the nearby city of Tambov, where Russian air defenses were engaged. Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the strikes, which could not be independently verified at the time of reporting.kyivindependent

Moscow Region Under Fire

A second Wildberries warehouse in the city of Elektrostal, in Moscow Oblast, was also set ablaze by drone strikes overnight, Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov confirmed. Twenty-four people were injured at the Elektrostal facility.apa+1

Separately, drone debris sparked a fire at an oil depot in the nearby city of Noginsk, injuring two more people and prompting authorities to evacuate a maternity hospital. "All patients and staff were immediately transferred to other medical institutions," Vorobyov said. In total, 26 people were injured across the two Moscow Oblast sites.apa

Scale of the Attack

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 370 drones flew toward the Moscow region beginning at 8:30 p.m. Moscow time on Friday. "Most were neutralized by air defense forces at distant approaches. 64 enemy unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed on approach to Moscow," Sobyanin wrote on the state-backed MAX platform. Vorobyov separately reported that 48 drones were shot down over Moscow Oblast.thedefensepost+2

The attack continues a pattern of escalating Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure deep behind the front lines. Exactly one month earlier, on June 18, Ukrainian drones struck Moscow's primary oil refinery in what was then described as one of the largest assaults on the Russian capital since the start of the full-scale invasion.npr