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Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Tambov region, setting off a huge fire. The repeat hit on a major retailer underlined Kyiv's push to damage commercial targets deep inside Russia.
Moscow,UPDATED: Aug 26, 2026 15:24 IST
Ukrainian long-range drones struck a major warehouse of Wildberries, Russia's biggest online retailer, for the second time in just over a month, triggering a massive fire that completely destroyed the site, local authorities said on Wednesday. The attack was part of a wider wave of Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia overnight.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 426 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed. Ukrainian attacks have increasingly targeted commercial and oil facilities inside Russia, while Moscow has continued strikes on Ukraine with ballistic and cruise missiles, glide bombs and jet-powered drones that have killed thousands of civilians.
Wildberries confirmed the overnight drone strike and fire at its depot in the Tambov region, southeast of Moscow, and said the facility had been evacuated, but it did not give details on the extent of the damage. Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said the fire completely destroyed the logistics centre and injured two people: a 19-year-old man who suffered a concussion and a 49-year-old woman who broke her finger.
Ukrainian forces had earlier hit the same depot on July 18, killing seven people. That strike marked the start of an aerial campaign that has repeatedly hit Wildberries facilities across Russia in recent weeks. The company's size and commercial importance have drawn comparisons with Amazon.
Kyiv officials say goods sold by Wildberries include gear and technical components used by Russia's military. The attacks have also served Ukraine's war aims by unsettling Russians living far from the front line and by hurting the Russian economy. Ukraine has also targeted Russian oil facilities, a key part of the country's economy. Unconfirmed reports said an oil refinery in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region was on fire on Wednesday. Regional Governor Gleb Nikitin confirmed the attack and said an unspecified "industrial facility" was damaged, but gave no further details.
In another incident, two people were killed and two others were wounded in Russia's Lipetsk region, south of Moscow, after a drone fell on a house and set it on fire, Governor Igor Artamonov said. The overnight attacks underlined Ukraine's continued use of large drone barrages against targets deep inside Russia, including commercial and industrial sites.
With PTI Inputs
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Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 26, 2026 15:24 IST
