The war between Russia and Ukraine saw a sharp spike in cross-border air raids over the weekend, with both countries launching extensive drone and missile strikes against key logistical hubs, civilian neighborhoods, and industrial sites. A massive wave of Ukrainian long-range drones pushed deep toward Moscow, sparking a massive fire at a central distribution center run by Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries. In response, Russian forces unleashed heavy missile and drone bombardments across Ukraine, damaging the ArcelorMittal steel complex in Kryvyi Rih and triggering multiple blazes across Kyiv.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin noted that roughly 600 drones were detected flying toward the capital region alone, calling it one of the largest aerial incursions aimed at the area so far. While Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have intercepted 822 drones across several regions overnight, several strikes still slipped through. In Podolsk, about 45 kilometers south of Moscow, a kamikaze drone hit the Wildberries Koledino distribution hub, sending plumes of thick smoke into the sky. The strike fits into Kyiv's continuous campaign against Russian logistics infrastructure, with Ukrainian defense officials maintaining that such massive commercial warehouses are being used to store dual-use military equipment and battlefield supplies. In the wider Moscow region, local authorities confirmed that an 83-year-old man died after drone wreckage crashed onto his home.
At the same time, Russian retaliatory strikes hit vital industrial facilities deep inside Ukraine. In Kryvyi Rih, ballistic missiles slammed into Ukraine’s largest integrated steel manufacturing plant, operated by ArcelorMittal. The blast inflicted serious damage on critical power-generation units and blast-furnace facilities, forcing the company to partially suspend plant operations. Local officials confirmed that the strike killed two people and left 14 others injured.
Missile fragments also sparked fires in multiple parts of Kyiv, damaging market stalls and retail shops around the Pochaina metro station and injuring at least six residents. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the assault, stating that Russian ballistic strikes continue to hit civilian areas and supply chains across urban centers. With casualties and infrastructure damage mounting on both sides of the border, the weekend exchange underscores a determined effort by both militaries to target critical logistics networks and weaken economic resilience.
