The conflict

War in Ukraine: latest news. Drones from Kyiv strike Wildberries hub, the ‘Russian Amazon’: eight dead and at least 90 injured

A Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian logistics centre has left eight people dead and 24 injured

18 July 2026aggiornato alle 20:15

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Il fumo si alza da un magazzino, in seguito agli attacchi mortali sferrati da droni ucraini, secondo quanto riferito dai governatori regionali, a Elektrostal, nella regione di Mosca, in Russia, il 18 luglio 2026, in questa schermata tratta da un video pubblicato sui social media. (Social Media via REUTERS)

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Drones from Kyiv struck two Wildberry logistics hubs overnight, the Russian equivalent of Amazon, in Elektrostal, in the Moscow region, and in Kotovska, in the Tambov region, as well as an oil depot in Noginsk, 50 kilometres from the centre of the Russian capital and several hundred kilometres from the front line.

Wildberry’s logistics centres were being used to supply components for the manufacture of drones and navigation systems subject to sanctions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed in a post on X. Moscow denies this.

Eight people were killed and at least 90 were injured in the attack in Tambov, according to Russian sources quoted by the TASS news agency.

Ucraina, 1596° giorno di guerra
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Moscow: Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and two ships in Chernomorsk hit

The Russian armed forces have stated that they carried out a new series of attacks overnight against Ukrainian port infrastructure which, according to Moscow, is being used to transfer supplies intended for the forces in Kyiv. In a statement quoted by TASS, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated that the attacks targeted the port of Odessa, where fuel unloading facilities and storage tanks intended to supply the Ukrainian army were reportedly struck, using precision-guided weapons launched from the air and from the ground, as well as attack drones. Moscow also claimed to have struck two ships involved in transporting military cargo in the area of the port of Chernomorsk: one moored in the port and a second at sea.

Zelensky: ‘Key Russian logistics facilities and an oil site have been hit’

The Ukrainian armed forces have ‘struck two major logistics facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions, more than 500 and nearly 700 kilometres from the front line respectively’ and ‘an oil refinery’. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote this on ‘X’, explaining that it was a ‘response to Russian attacks on our civilian infrastructure, our cities and communities’. The facilities struck were ‘being used (by the Russians, ed.) to source components subject to sanctions for the production of drones and navigation equipment’. Zelensky added that ‘Ukrainian medium-range strikes hit targets in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, and in our temporarily occupied Crimea’.C

Another 13 ships in Russia’s ‘ghost fleet’ have been hit

Ukrainian forces struck a further 13 vessels from Russia’s ‘ghost fleet’ in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov overnight, including eight cargo ships, an oil tanker, a gas tanker, a tugboat and two crane ships, as part of the ‘MoloChKa’ campaign to block fuel supplies to the occupied regions, according to military sources in Kyiv. Russia currently has 172 vessels at its disposal to circumvent the sanctions imposed on the 6th of this month.

Ft, ‘Zelensky considers removing Armed Forces Chief Syrsky’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is considering removing the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, in an attempt to find a way out of the most serious crisis at the top of the military during his term in office. This is according to the Financial Times, which cites a senior official in the Ukrainian administration.

According to the source, Zelensky will convene a meeting of military commanders this weekend to hear their assessments of the situation on the battlefield and to consider possible candidates for the leadership of the Armed Forces.

According to the newspaper, the president is reportedly willing to remove Syrsky – whom the FT notes is known as ‘the Butcher’ – should he manage to find a commander capable of ensuring a smooth handover whilst, at the same time, maintaining a solid defence along the approximately 1,200-kilometre front line.

The possibility of Syrskyi’s dismissal, writes the FT, emerged after protests against the sacking of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov turned on Friday evening into a wider mobilisation against the commander-in-chief. Thousands of people gathered outside the presidential administration building in Kyiv, chanting the slogan “Syrsky out”.

Fedorov had claimed that Syrsky had obstructed his attempts to reform the Ministry of Defence and had asked Zelensky to replace both the commander-in-chief and the chief of the general staff.