Ukraine’s Drones Kill 9, Torch Oil Depots and Wildberries Warehouse in Massive Strike

Ukrainian forces struck an oil depot in the town of Noginsk and destroyed a massive warehouse owned by Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, burning an area of 188,000 square meters [199745][199776]. Ukrainian officials described the Wildberries strike as “karma” for years of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s supply chains [199745]. Kyiv said the overall operation targeted suppliers supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine [199776].

In a separate but related naval campaign, Ukrainian drone units have been systematically hunting Russian oil tankers. Over nine days, three Ukrainian drone units under an operation named “MoLoChKa” struck 116 small Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea [196078]. Each large export tanker requires 12 to 15 small vessels to fill it, and by burning the smaller ships, Ukraine aims to disrupt Russia’s oil supply chain [196078]. The attacks have brought traffic of these “shadow fleet” vessels—aging tankers accused of evading Western sanctions—to a near halt in the Sea of Azov [196085].

Moscow’s Agriculture Ministry confirmed it is now seeking “alternative shipping routes” in response to the strikes [196114]. A Ukrainian partisan network claims Russia has redeployed its elite Rubicon drone unit from the front lines to guard the oil tankers at sea, a move that suggests the attacks are severely disrupting Russia’s oil exports [197273]. Over the past ten days, Ukraine has reportedly struck 147 shadow-fleet ships, forcing Moscow to shift its military priorities [197273].

Ukraine’s navy also released footage of its new “Barracuda” sea drone leading a coordinated strike involving three uncrewed vessels, marking a step forward in naval drone warfare by using multiple platforms in a single, synchronized attack without any sailors on board [197292].