Ukrainian drone attacks kill seven warehouse workers in Russia, spark fire at Moscow region oil depot


A damaged building of a kindergarten following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to regional authorities, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the town of Elektrostal, Moscow region, Russia, in this handout image released on July 18, 2026. Governor of Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - Waves ⁠of Ukrainian drone attacks killed seven warehouse workers and ⁠injured dozens more, while another attack sparked a fire at ‌an oil depot in the wider capital region, regional governors said on Saturday.

Governor Evgeniy Pervyshov said 25 people were injured after Ukrainian drones slammed into a ​warehouse owned by Wildberries, Russia's largest online ⁠retailer, in the city of ⁠Kotovsk in the Tambov region, roughly 475 kilometres (295 miles) southeast of ⁠Moscow.

"Seven ‌people working the night shift died on the spot," Pervyshov wrote on Telegram, adding that 28 drones were also ⁠shot down on approach.

"If they had achieved their ​goal, the number ‌of civilian casualties could have been much higher," he said.

Ukrainian ⁠President Volodymyr ​Zelenskiy said Kyiv had struck two logistics facilities used by Russia to supply components for drone production and navigation equipment. An oil facility was ⁠also hit, Zelenskiy wrote on X.

The ​governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said 24 people were injured following a drone attack on another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal, a ⁠city east of Moscow.

Wildberries co-founder and CEO, Tatyana Kim, said it had been a "terrible night" for Russia and for the company, offering her condolences to the victims' families.

In the city of Noginsk, also ​in the Moscow region, falling drone debris ⁠caused a fire to break out at an oil depot, Vorobyov ​said.

He did not specify the damage to ‌the facility, but said two people ​were injured in Noginsk and a nearby maternity hospital had been evacuated.

(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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