On the night of July 18, Ukrainian drones attacked several regions of Russia. Among the targets were Wildberries logistics centers in the Tambov region and the Moscow region.
In the town of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, a marketplace warehouse was hit, according to Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov. He said air defenses shot down 28 drones on their approach to the town and added that the number of casualties could have been higher if they had reached their target.
According to the latest data, seven employees working the night shift were killed in the strike on the Kotovsk warehouse. Another 25 people were injured, with 23 hospitalized. Authorities said most suffered shrapnel wounds; one person was in extremely serious condition and six others were seriously injured. At about 5:30 a.m. Moscow time, the open fire at the warehouse was extinguished, though firefighting continued.
A Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal was also hit. Drones additionally struck an oil depot in Noginsk, where a nearby maternity hospital was evacuated as a precaution, Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said.
Vorobyov said 26 people were injured in the Moscow region: two in Noginsk and another 24 in the attack on the Elektrostal warehouse. Some of the injured were in serious condition. Ukrainian Telegram channels published footage of a major fire, while subscribers of Astra and readers of Varlamov News reported thick smoke visible from dozens of kilometers away.
Wildberries chief Tatyana Kim called it a “terrible night” and said the company would help the families of those killed and provide all necessary support to the injured.
She did not say whether the marketplace would compensate sellers for goods destroyed in the attack. In early July, Wildberries added a clause to its seller agreement releasing the company from liability for failure to meet obligations in the event of drone attacks.
In Vladimir, according to Governor Aleksandr Avdeyev, a drone hit an apartment in a residential high-rise, causing a fire that has since been extinguished; no one was injured. The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted and destroyed 379 Ukrainian drones overnight over 19 Russian regions, annexed Crimea, and the waters of the Azov and Black seas.