Wildberries Hub, Major Refinery Hit Overnight as Russia Reports 426 Drones

On Wednesday, August 26, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted a major Wildberries logistics center and one of Russia's largest oil refineries. Tambov Oblast's governor, Yevgeny Pervyshov, confirmed that a drone attack caused a fire at the Wildberries logistics center, covering over 100,000 square meters. One employee suffered a concussion during the attack, but staff were quickly evacuated.

Wildberries' press service stated that the warehouse had stopped accepting deliveries. The Kotovsk Wildberries warehouse, one of the company's key logistics hubs in central Russia, had been previously targeted on July 18, resulting in the deaths of seven people and injuries to 25 others. Meanwhile, the Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, was also targeted.

Ukrainian monitoring channels reported multiple explosions and a large fire near the refinery, while Russian residents shared footage of the blaze. The refinery, operated by Lukoil, is Russia's fourth-largest refinery and second in gasoline production, processing around 15 million metric tons of oil annually and generating approximately 5 million tons of gasoline.

The refinery supplies fuel to the Moscow region. Russia's Defense Ministry reported intercepting and destroying 426 Ukrainian drones overnight, with attacks detected in 15 Russian regions and Crimea. Ukrainian defense forces claimed to have successfully targeted the Kstovsky Refinery, which accounts for up to 11% of Russia's gasoline production.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had struck 16 targets in Russia that day, including oil facilities, airfields, missile units, and logistics infrastructure, to increase the cost of the war for Russia.