Ukrainian drone strike hits warehouse near Moscow, kills seven workers

Ukrainian drone strikes hit a logistics centre in Elektrostal, east of Moscow, killing at least seven warehouse workers and injuring 24, Russian regional officials said. Thick smoke rose from the warehouse after the attack, and video from the scene showed a damaged building in Moscow region as the war again reached the capital’s doorstep.

The strike added to a pattern of drone attacks on targets inside Russia that have increasingly hit military-linked infrastructure, logistics hubs and industrial sites. Moscow and the surrounding region carry particular political weight: each fire or smoke plume near the capital undercuts the Kremlin’s image of domestic control and shows that long-range drones can still reach sensitive sites far from the front line.

Volodymyr Zelensky said the warehouses were used “to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.” Russian officials presented the site as a civilian warehouse and logistics facility, while Ukrainian statements framed the target as tied to military supply chains. In the same wave of attacks, ABC News said eight people were killed and more than 60 wounded across Russian regions, while CNN said at least eight people died at warehouses in Russia.

The Moscow region blast came after earlier drone damage in the capital area had already forced disruptions. In June, the Moscow oil refinery was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack and operations were halted, showing that the Kremlin’s largest metropolitan area has become a recurring target. A separate strike also hit a distribution centre in Kotovsk, broadening the reach of the campaign beyond one site.

For Russian residents, the attacks have turned warehouses, refineries and logistics centres into visible signs that the conflict is no longer confined to the battlefield. For Ukraine, the strikes pressure Russia’s war economy and its supply chains while sending a message that infrastructure near Moscow is not immune.