A Wildberries depot in Russia is destroyed as Ukraine extends its drone
campaign
[August 27, 2026]
Long-range Ukrainian drones struck a major warehouse
belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer, burning it to the ground,
local authorities said Wednesday.
The depot in the Tambov region southeast of Moscow had been hit on July
18, killing seven people. That attack was the start of Ukraine's aerial
campaign that has delivered repeated blows to Russian e-commerce giant
Wildberries. The company’s size and commercial importance brought
comparisons with Amazon.
Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone capabilities developed since Russian
President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022 have
allowed Kyiv to hit Wildberries facilities across the country in recent
weeks. Ukraine says goods sold by the company include equipment and
technical components that are used by the Russian military, which the
company denies. The attacks have unsettled Russians living far from the
front and hurt small businesses.
Ukraine also has targeted oil facilities that are the backbone of the
economy in Russia, which is one of the world’s largest energy producers.
Ukraine's General Staff said its forces struck a Lukoil refinery
overnight in Kstovo, in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. The facility,
which has an annual processing capacity of about 125 million barrels,
was set ablaze in the attack, a General Staff statement said.
Nizhny Novgorod has been targeted repeatedly by Ukraine. Gov. Gleb
Nikitin confirmed the attack and said an unspecified “industrial
facility” was damaged, without elaborating.
The relentless barrages prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to
decree that the state can temporarily seize control of critical
infrastructure facilities if private owners don't protect them from
Ukrainian drone attacks or don't rebuild them after the strikes.
Analysts said the move aimed to compel companies to pay for their own
security and bring damaged assets back into service, despite the cost.
Russia has hit Ukraine with ballistic and cruise missiles, powerful
glide bombs and jet-powered drones, killing thousands of civilians. A
woman and a 4-year-old were killed in a strike on a residential building
in northern Ukraine's Chernihiv region, emergency services said
Wednesday.
Ukraine has launched hundreds of drones at Russia almost nightly, hoping
to overwhelm air defenses. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its
forces overnight shot down 426 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions
as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Moscow
in 2014.
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Smoke rises following a Ukrainian drone strike on a warehouse
belonging to online retailer Wildberries, in St. Petersburg, Russia,
on Friday, July 24, 2026. (UGC via AP, File)
Ukraine struck Russian oil facilities, airfields, logistics and
infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media
post Wednesday. He didn't elaborate on the targets.
Also on Wednesday, Zelenskyy awarded Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of
Freedom, one of its highest honors, for his “outstanding personal
merits” in protecting human life and freedom and strengthening ties
with the United States.
Musk is one of the most influential, and contentious, private sector
figures in Ukraine’s war effort. His satellite internet network
Starlink has become deeply embedded in Ukraine’s military
operations, with commanders and soldiers relying on satellite
connectivity to communicate and coordinate operations.
Starlink doesn’t currently operate over Russian territory, but
Zelenskyy wants Musk to reconsider and allow Ukrainian forces to
maintain satellite connectivity for longer-range drone attacks
targeting Russia’s military and economic infrastructure.
The overnight attack on the Wildberries facility in Tambov was
confirmed by the company, which said the depot was evacuated. It
didn’t say the extent of the damage.
Tambov Gov. Yevgeny Pervyshov said the fire destroyed the logistical
center and injured two people.
Elsewhere, two people were killed and two others were wounded in
Russia’s Lipetsk region, south of Moscow, after a drone fell on a
house, setting it ablaze, Gov. Igor Artamonov said.
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