Ukraine Drone Attacks Hit Russian Oil Depots

A wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeted Russian oil depots and businesses on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people. The aerial campaign, which is part of Kyiv’s efforts to undermine Moscow’s war effort, hit several key targets, including two warehouses for the major Russian retailer Wildberries. The warehouses, located in the town of Kotovsk in the Tambov region and the city of Elektrostal near Moscow, were severely damaged in the attacks.

Seven night shift workers were killed at the Kotovsk warehouse, and 25 others were wounded, according to Tambov regional governor Yevgeny Pervyshov. In the Moscow region, 37 people were wounded, with one later dying in the hospital. In addition to the warehouse attacks, a Ukrainian drone also hit an oil depot in the city of Noginsk, sparking a fire and prompting evacuations of a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building.

Another person was killed and one more wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region on Saturday afternoon. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attacks in a Telegram post, stating that Ukrainian long-range strikes hit two significant logistical facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions. Zelensky said the facilities were used by Russia to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment.

The attacks are part of a broader campaign by Ukraine to target Russian energy infrastructure and military targets. Ukraine’s general staff reported striking a fuel depot in Noginsk, which supplies the Russian armed forces, as well as hitting two tankers, two floating cranes, and a tugboat in the Black and Azov seas. The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 379 Ukrainian drones over 19 Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea.

The ministry’s statement did not provide further details on the intercepted drones. Ukraine continues to push back against Russia’s invasion, which is now in its fifth year.