Ukraine launched its largest aerial assault on Moscow since the start of the war, firing more than 400 drones at targets around the Russian capital and striking Wildberries logistics hubs that Kyiv says are used to supply the Russian military.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed the barrage on Monday, saying air defense systems intercepted the vast majority of incoming drones but that several struck industrial zones on the outskirts of the city. Fires broke out at the Yuzhnye Vrata industrial park, a site housing Wildberries warehouse facilities, while an oil depot in Podolsk, roughly 20 kilometers south of Moscow, also caught fire, according to the Astra news outlet.
Four Moscow airports were temporarily shut down during the attack, with more than 500 flights cancelled or delayed. The assault marked the latest escalation in Ukraine’s campaign to strike deep inside Russia, targeting economic and logistics infrastructure that Kyiv says underpins Moscow’s ability to wage war.
Retaliation on the Danube
Russia responded with massive strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region overnight, targeting the Danube port of Izmail and damaging a civilian vessel. Four people were injured in the attacks, which also struck a pier terminal, hangars, and storage facilities, according to Ukrainian regional officials.
The strikes damaged a Taranto-class patrol boat and fuel tanks at the Odesa port, as well as infrastructure at Izmail, a critical grain shipping hub on the Danube Delta that has become increasingly important since Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Wildberries Campaign
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strikes on logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region, adding that Kyiv’s forces also hit two vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet and four dry cargo ships. He said the Wildberries warehouses had been targeted because of the company’s involvement in the Russian war effort.
Ukraine has attacked roughly a dozen Wildberries sites since mid-July in an effort to disrupt the operations of Russia’s largest online retailer, which is often described as Russia’s equivalent of Amazon. The company has become a frequent target after Ukrainian intelligence identified its logistics network as supporting military supply chains.
“We don’t want this war and we never have. But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces struck ports, vessels, and logistics centers across Ukraine in response. The tit-for-tat exchanges come as the war enters its fifth year and both sides increasingly target each other’s economic infrastructure far from the front lines. The attacks on Moscow’s outskirts and Odesa’s ports underscore how the conflict has expanded well beyond the battlefield, with civilian infrastructure on both sides bearing the brunt.
Sources: CNBC; The Guardian; United24 Media; Reuters
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