The night of July 18 saw a large-scale attack by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on several regions of Russia. As a result of strikes on logistics centers and residential buildings, people were killed, fires broke out, and air raids were declared in several cities.
Tragedy in the Tambov region
The most severe consequences were recorded in the Tambov region. The region's governor, Evgeny Perveyshov, confirmed that a fire broke out at the logistics center of the Wildberries marketplace in the city of Kotosk. According to him, the fire was caused by an attack by Ukrainian drones.
According to preliminary data from local authorities, seven people died as a result of the incident. Another 24 warehouse employees were injured. The fact of the fire and its location were confirmed by independent OSINT analysis by the Telegram channel Astra, which previously identified the exact location of the fire. On the night of July 18, the channel published video recordings of the attacks made by local residents. Similar materials, including footage from the Wildberries warehouse, are being distributed by the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+.
Strikes on the Vladimir region and Moscow
In the Vladimir region, a drone hit an apartment in a high-rise building. Governor Alexander Avdeev reported a fire and the evacuation of residents to temporary shelters. According to him, a full evacuation is not required, and there are no casualties.
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported repelling a large-scale attack. Air defense forces shot down 33 drones flying towards the city. Later, he clarified that more than 370 drones were launched at the Moscow region. Emergency service specialists are working at the sites where debris fell.
Other regions and Crimea
The Governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, reported that six UAVs were shot down over the region. In the Moscow suburb of Elektrostal, according to the Exilenova+ channel, a Wildberries warehouse is also on fire. In addition, a Ukrainian source claims there is a fire at an oil depot in Noginsk, located less than 10 km from Elektrostal. The same sources report explosions in Tver, however, the administrations of the Moscow and Tver regions have not yet commented on this data.
Attacks also occurred on the territory of occupied Crimea. The Ukrainian channel "Crimean Wind" reports strikes on Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia, and the settlement of Gvardeyskoye, where an air base is located. The Russia-appointed "governor" of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, declared an air raid at 00:16, which was canceled two and a half hours later.
