Moscow, Aug 4 (EFE).- At least seven people were killed on Tuesday in a new wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting logistics facilities and border regions across Russia, while Moscow said air defenses intercepted hundreds of unmanned aircraft overnight.
Tuesday’s attacks brought to 21 the number of logistics centers operated by Wildberries, often referred to as Russia’s Amazon, that have reportedly been struck since July 18.
Ukrainian drones also targeted the Syzran oil refinery in the Samara region, about 750 km southeast of Moscow.
The refinery, owned by Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, had already suspended operations less than a month ago following an earlier drone strike.
Three logistics hubs targeted
Five people were killed and 10 others injured in an early morning strike on a Wildberries warehouse in the Moscow region, less than 70 km from the Kremlin, according to regional governor Andrei Vorobyov.
«Several fires broke out at the Novoselok industrial site following the strike. The largest affected a warehouse, but the fire has now been extinguished,» Vorobyov said, adding that an electrical substation and an administrative building were also damaged.
In the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said another Ukrainian attack damaged a warehouse area near the town of Krasny Bor, leaving one person injured.
Wildberries confirmed on Telegram that one of its logistics centers had been hit but said employees had been evacuated in time.
Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ published images showing thick grey smoke rising above the warehouse complex.
In the neighbouring Tver region, less than 200 km northwest of Moscow, Governor Vitaly Korolyov said Russian air defenses shot down a drone that was approaching another Wildberries warehouse near the town of Emmaus.
Two more people were killed on Tuesday in attacks on the border regions of Belgorod and Bryansk, which, together with neighbouring Kursk, have been among the areas most frequently targeted during the war. Authorities provided no further details.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 320 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones overnight across 18 regions and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Arrests in Crimea
Separately, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained two people in the port city of Sevastopol, in the annexed Crimean Peninsula, accusing them of working for Ukrainian military intelligence.
The FSB said officers seized three drones, an improvised explosive device and other explosive materials.
According to the agency, the suspects had been tasked with attacking critical infrastructure in Crimea and targeting a pro-Russian official from one of the Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 during a visit to the peninsula.
The agency also announced the arrest of a woman originally from Ukraine’s Kherson region, alleging that she had gathered intelligence on Russian military deployments and critical infrastructure in Crimea.
According to the FSB, she was also instructed to assemble drones using 3D printers for attacks on Russian targets. She could face charges of high treason.
In a separate case, a Russian court sentenced a man to 16 years in prison on Tuesday after finding him guilty of passing information and photographs about the movements of a Russian assault helicopter to Ukraine. EFE
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