Ukraine’s Large-Scale Drone Barrage Triggers Fires in Moscow Region and Sparks NATO-Airspace Interception

Overnight, Ukrainian forces launched what Russian officials describe as one of the largest aerial assaults on the Moscow area, deploying more than 800 attack drones. Air-defence units and electronic-warfare teams shot down 187 drones over the Moscow region, according to Governor Andrey Vorobiev, while the Russian defence ministry reported a record 822 Ukrainian drones intercepted across the country. The strikes ignited a fire at a 250,000-square-metre Wildberries warehouse—a logistics hub the company plans to expand into Kazakhstan. Vorobiev said no injuries occurred at the depot, but an 83-year-old man was killed elsewhere in the region, and five people died in the Rostov area where a solid-rocket-propellant plant was hit.

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In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that ballistic missiles struck Kremenchuk and Kryvyi Rih, killing two people in Kryvyi Rih and one in Sumy. A steel-plant operated by Arcelor Mittal in Kryvyi Rih suffered injuries to thirteen employees and one fatality. Ukrainian air-force officials said none of the incoming missiles were intercepted, underscoring a shortage of missile interceptors.

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Since mid-July, the e-commerce giant Wildberries has been repeatedly targeted, with at least 20 of its warehouses hit by Ukrainian drones. Kyiv argues the company supplies the Russian military, prompting a focus on its logistics network. Simultaneously, Russian forces continue missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian industrial sites, including the Kremenchuk oil refinery and the ArcelorMittal complex.

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President Zelensky called for the activation of European-made interceptors, stating that lives must be protected and that Russia must be stopped. Governor Vorobiev emphasized that the Wildberries fire caused no injuries and highlighted the broader defensive effort across 17 Russian regions. Romania’s defence ministry confirmed that a Spanish-operated F-18 fighter jet, on a NATO air-policing mission, shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace from Moldova, describing the incident as the latest in a series of incursions near the Ukrainian border.

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• Ukrainian drones launched: >800 (Russian claim) / 822 (Russian defence ministry)

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• Drones shot down in Moscow region: 187 (regional governor)

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• Casualties in Russia: at least six dead, three injured in Moscow region, five dead in Rostov

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• Ukrainian casualties: three dead (Kryvyi Rih and Sumy), 14 injured in Kryvyi Rih strike, six injured in Kyiv

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• Wildberries warehouses attacked since mid-July: >=20

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• “Romania is defending its airspace, and our allies are standing with us,” — Defense Minister Radu Miruta

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