Ukrainian strikes devastate Russian warehouses used for drone supply

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian long-range strikes hit two drone supply hubs in the Moscow and Tambov regions of Russia. Russian officials and news reports described them as warehouses of the online retailer Wildberries: one in the town of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, about 360 km from the border with Ukraine, and another in the city of Elektrostal, about 50 km east of Moscow. Zelenskyy stated: “These facilities were used by the aggressor to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment.” The Tambov regional governor, Yevgeny Pervyshov, said seven night shift workers were killed at the warehouse in Kotovsk and 25 others wounded. Ukrainian military analyst Serhii Kuzan told the BBC that Wildberries was a vital supplier of dual-use and sanctioned goods to the Russian army.

One more person was killed and another wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region on Saturday afternoon, according to local authorities. Ukraine’s general staff said Kyiv’s forces hit a fuel depot in Noginsk that supplies the Russian armed forces. The military also reported hitting two tankers, two floating cranes, and a tugboat in the Black and Azov Seas, saying the vessels were used to transport oil, fuel, and military cargo. Separately, the military said it struck a Russian Project 10410 Svetlyak-class patrol ship in Kerch – the second vessel of that class hit in two days – as well as a railway bridge over the Bila River near Sabivka in the occupied Luhansk region that Russia used for military logistics.

Russian strikes killed five people and wounded almost 20 others across Ukraine’s south-east on Saturday. Kyiv’s military administration said an apartment building was hit in the Shevchenkivsky district, and a shopping and entertainment center in the Dniprovsky district. An attack on Odesa port infrastructure hit a vessel under the Antigua and Barbuda flag, killing one person and injuring three.

Protests have continued in Kyiv calling for the dismissal of Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, after Zelenskyy removed the popular defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov to placate Syrskyi. The president defended his decision, saying there had been a “challenging dialogue” between Fedorov and Syrskyi.

North Korea’s foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, flew to Moscow for talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. North Korea has sent missiles and munitions for Russia to use in its war against Ukraine, while thousands of North Korean troops have died on the frontlines. Analysts say that in return, Moscow is sending financial aid, military technology, food, and energy to the pariah state.

Botswana says an “alarming” number of its nationals are being forced into combat in Russia’s war against Ukraine after falling for deceptive recruitment schemes. Botswana’s foreign ministry said: “The ministry continues to receive heartbreaking calls from Batswana already on the frontline, describing the perilous conditions they face.”