Ukraine strikes Wildberries warehouse in Russia

At least six people were killed in fresh Russian strikes across Ukraine on Friday, as Moscow intensified its aerial assaults on civilian and economic targets while Kyiv retaliated by hitting a major Russian e-commerce firm deep inside Russian territory.

The wave of attacks came as both sides escalated their campaign of reciprocal strikes on each other’s infrastructure. In Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drones, artillery and aerial bombs struck at least 50 times across five districts, killing two people and wounding six on Friday alone. The regional governor said five more civilians had died in similar attacks the previous day. In the southern Kherson region, an elderly woman was killed when a Molniya drone hit her car. Nearby, eight bus passengers were among dozens injured in widespread strikes that also wounded at least 18 people across 21 settlements in Kharkiv. In Russian-occupied Crimea, a Ukrainian drone strike on an apartment building killed two people, according to local officials.

The human toll extended beyond the front lines. Donetsk’s governor reported one death after at least 44 Russian shellings since Thursday, while Kherson and Kharkiv officials confirmed multiple casualties from drones and cluster munitions. The pattern reflects a broader strategy by both sides to disrupt daily life and economic stability far from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Serbia for his first official visit, a move likely to provoke Moscow given Serbia’s long-standing ties with Russia as a key energy supplier.

Kyiv’s military has focused part of its response on Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, which operates like Amazon and is seen by Ukraine as a key economic node supporting the war effort. Early on Friday, multiple drones targeted a Wildberries logistics hub in Yekaterinburg—about 2,000 kilometers from the front—sparking large fires before emergency crews contained the blaze. The company said the facility had been evacuated. Since mid-July, Ukraine has launched at least 20 strikes on Wildberries sites, killing 13 people, setting warehouses ablaze, and disrupting deliveries. Wildberries and Russian officials deny any role in funding the war. Ukraine has also claimed its recent 40-day campaign has damaged 14 refineries, oil depots, loading terminals, aircraft, and airfields across Russia, while Moscow has struck seven oil and gas facilities in eastern Ukraine in response. The escalating strikes underscore a widening shadow war over economic infrastructure, with civilians increasingly caught in the crossfire.