Key facts
- Ukraine launched a large drone attack on Moscow Oblast on Aug. 16, targeting a Wildberries warehouse.
- Russian authorities claimed to have intercepted hundreds of drones, reporting one fatality in Moscow Oblast.
- Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed the attack on the Wildberries warehouse, calling it the company's largest facility.
- Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least seven civilians and injured 51 others over the past day.
- Ukraine claimed to have struck a Russian Bastion coastal defense missile system in occupied Crimea.
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow Oblast on Aug. 16, striking a major Wildberries online retail warehouse and other sites, according to Ukrainian officials and Russian authorities. Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov claimed that Russian air defenses intercepted 187 Ukrainian drones overnight across the region, reporting one person killed and multiple injuries. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that as many as 201 drones were intercepted over the region.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed the attack on the Wildberries warehouse, noting it is the company's largest facility at 250,000 square meters, and stated that Ukraine has taken out of operation seven of the 10 largest Wildberries logistics centers. A fire broke out at the warehouse in the village of Koledino near Moscow, and the Severnoye Domodedovo production and logistics complex in the city of Domodedovo was also set ablaze.
Attacks were also reported in southwestern Rostov Oblast, where Governor Yuri Slyusar claimed 150 drones and missiles were downed, resulting in five deaths and one injury. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that Russian air defenses intercepted a total of 822 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions. Ukraine's General Staff reported that its attacks on Rostov Oblast targeted Kombinat Kamensky, a state-owned enterprise that produces solid rocket fuel for Russian military launchers.
Concurrently, Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least seven civilians and injured 51 others over the past day, regional authorities reported on Aug. 16. Ukraine's Air Force stated that Russia attacked Kyiv, Kremenchuk, and Kryvyi Rih with various missiles and 106 long-range attack drones. Ukrainian defenses intercepted 85 of the drones. In Kyiv, three people were injured and fires broke out. In Kryvyi Rih, two people were killed and 14 injured, with a plant of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's largest steel producer, being hit and partially suspending operations.
Additionally, a drone was shot down over Romania by a Spanish F-18 fighter jet on a NATO air-policing mission; its origin was not specified but appeared to be Russian. Casualties were also reported in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Odesa, and Mykolaiv Oblasts due to Russian attacks. The Ukrainian Navy reported striking a Russian Bastion coastal defense missile system in occupied Crimea.