Ukrainian drones strike Moscow oil depot and Wildberries warehouses
Ukraine targeted Russian commercial infrastructure with over 400 drones overnight, signalling a strategy to cripple Moscow's supply chains as both sides accelerate expensive missile exchanges.
Ukraine launched over 400 drones toward Moscow overnight on Monday, striking an oil depot, a logistics centre, and warehouses belonging to Wildberries, one of Russia's largest online marketplaces. Ten people, including a child, were wounded in the surrounding region, with residential buildings damaged in the towns of Podolsk, Domodedovo, and Odintsovo. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that 85 drones were intercepted near the capital, while the rest were downed further out.
The deliberate targeting of the Wildberries network highlights Kyiv's strategy of degrading Russia's domestic commercial supply chains. By hitting logistics hubs and storage facilities on the outskirts of the capital, Ukraine aims to disrupt the movement and distribution of goods at a time when the Russian economy is heavily mobilised for war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reported strikes on two shadow fleet tankers and four cargo ships in the Black Sea, further threatening the maritime logistics that sustain Russian trade.
Russia responded with a large-scale ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on Sunday, killing one and injuring 16. This escalation comes at a steep resource cost for Moscow. "Russian forces have launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine thus far in July than Russia reportedly produces each month," the Institute for the Study of War noted.
The think tank added that "Russia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles." Ukraine's air force reported that Russia also launched 94 long-range strike drones overnight, with 81 jammed or intercepted. Still, nine drones and a missile caused damage across nine Ukrainian locations.
"We are justly responding to every Russian strike on our cities and communities," Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X. "This war must be ended, and that is possible only by intensifying pressure on the sole cause of this war." The mutual bombardments underscore that a negotiated settlement remains distant, with Kyiv using attacks on Russian economic infrastructure to force the Kremlin to the table.
Mr Zelenskyy's ability to sustain this pressure campaign is now complicated by a brewing domestic political crisis. The president is grappling with public outrage following a cabinet reshuffle last week, which began with anger over the dismissal of reformist defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Protests have since erupted demanding radical changes at the top military command, forcing Mr Zelenskyy to hold "key talks" on Monday to manage the fallout.
