Ryazan, Russia. Ukrainian drones struck oil refineries, logistics facilities and other industrial targets in several Russian regions and Crimea overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian officials said.
The strikes caused fires, casualties and the evacuation of a Wildberries warehouse in Ryazan, while local Russian authorities confirmed attacks in the affected regions.
Targets in Ryazan and Perm
Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces struck oil refineries in Perm and Ryazan, a logistics centre in Ryazan, an export terminal and military plant in the Rostov region, and a naval base in Crimea.
In Ryazan, about 500 kilometres from Ukrainian-held territory, Governor Pavel Malkov said industrial sites caught fire and six people sought medical assistance.
Wildberries said it evacuated its Ryazan site and stopped accepting goods deliveries. Video footage verified by Reuters showed a large fire at the facility.
The company and local authorities said drone strikes had damaged at least seven Wildberries warehouses in recent days, destroying about 10% of the retailer’s storage capacity and causing losses for tens of thousands of businesses using the platform.
Kommersant reported on Wednesday that Wildberries was seeking 100,000 square metres of warehouse space in neighbouring Kazakhstan to protect goods from Ukrainian strikes.
In Perm, around 1,600 kilometres from Ukrainian-held territory, Governor Dmitry Makhonin said Ukrainian drones struck an industrial facility. He reported no casualties and did not identify the site.
Casualties in Taganrog and Crimea
In the Rostov region, Governor Yuri Slyusar said a woman was killed and a man injured when missile debris struck an apartment building in Taganrog, a port city on the Sea of Azov with industrial facilities and a grain terminal.
On the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, Moscow-backed governor Sergei Aksyonov said overnight drone strikes killed two people and injured five others.
Deep-strike capability
Ukraine has faced shortages of air-defence interceptors, including Patriot missiles, increasing its exposure to Russian strikes. Its production of deep-strike drones has outpaced Russia’s, enabling attacks on Russian oil refineries and infrastructure that have contributed to fuel shortages across the country, according to the source text.