Ukrainian drone strikes kill at least five in Russia, set another Wildberries warehouse ablaze

Ukrainian drone strikes kill at least five in Russia, set another Wildberries warehouse ablaze Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least five people across Russia overnight into Sunday, hitting industrial sites and another warehouse belonging to e-commerce giant Wildberries as Kyiv pressed its long-range campaign to disrupt Moscow's economy while Russia continued its own attacks on Ukraine. Ukrainian drone strikes overnight into Sunday killed at least five people across Russia, also hitting industrial sites and a further warehouse belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries, local officials said. Wildberries, Russia's largest online marketplace, is sometimes described as the country’s answer to Amazon. In under two weeks, Ukraine has struck over a dozen of the retailer’s depots, part of Kyiv’s aerial campaign aimed at undermining Moscow's war effort, hurting its economy and making people feel the consequences of the Kremlin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. Read moreWildberries: 'Russia's Amazon' targeted by Ukraine Russian air defences overnight shot down 635 Ukrainian drones, including over occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov Seas, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. The ministry did not say how many were launched or struck targets. Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 133 drones during the night, 24 of which hit targets, according to the Ukrainian air force. Later on Sunday, separate Russian attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv killed at least two people, according to local officials. Ukrainian drones targeted a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the Russian-Ukrainian border, according to local Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. He said a fire had broken out but there were no casualties. Kyiv’s campaign against Wildberries first hit the company's sites in Elektrostal, just east of Moscow, and in the Tambov region on July 18. Strikes followed on facilities across western and southern Russia, as well as Russian-held Crimea. At least nine people have been killed and scores wounded. Two people were killed as a Ukrainian drone struck a residential building in the Saratov region east of Samara, local Governor Roman Busargin said. He added that the strikes damaged civil infrastructure in Engels, where the deaths took place, and the regional capital, Saratov. Both cities have been frequent targets for Ukrainian attacks in recent years. Engels hosts a military airbase, while Saratov is home to a large oil refinery. Read moreRussia-Ukraine war: First half of 2026 sees sharp rise in civilian casualties In Russia’s Bashkortostan region further north, local Governor Radiy Khabirov said that air defence had repelled a large-scale drone strike on “industrial facilities” in the city of Ufa. He did not specify what exactly was struck, but said that a blaze was being put out. In the Udmurt Republic further northwest, three civilians died and two more were wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to acting regional head Olga Abramova. Abramova said air defences shot down two Ukrainian drones and “prevented an attempted attack” by Kyiv. She said a civilian car was damaged in the strike, without clarifying if drone debris was the cause. In Ukraine, one person died on Sunday as a Russian guided bomb struck a residential building in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to local administration head Ivan Fedorov. Another attack on Sunday killed one person and set fire to a postal terminal on the outskirts of Kharkiv, in the northwest, said regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov. (FRANCE 24 with AP)