Ukraine and Russia exchanged large-scale overnight strikes on Aug. 16, with Ukrainian drones hitting military-linked logistics hubs in Moscow Oblast while Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv, Kremenchuk and Kryvyi Rih.
According to Telegram channels, drones struck the Wildberries warehouse in Koledino, described as the retailer’s largest facility, sparking a major fire, and hit the Severnoye Domodedovo logistics hub, one of Russia’s largest Class A production and logistics complexes. Local authorities reportedly said a nearby medicine warehouse also caught fire, and Russian air defenses reportedly struck residential buildings in Chekhov while intercepting the attack. Wildberries lists drone components and body armor on its platform, and the EU sanctioned its banking arm in July over its financial contribution to Russia’s state budget, the Kyiv Independent has reported.
Repeated strikes on Wildberries facilities have already strained Russia’s rear-area air defenses. The Institute for the Study of War assessed in July that Moscow was urgently deploying additional Pantsir systems across Moscow Oblast in response, The New Voice of Ukraine has reported.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia combined Oniks, Iskander-M, S-400, and KN-23 missiles with Kh-59/69 guided bombs and 106 Shahed-type drones overnight in strikes on Kyiv, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, a salvo pattern that Al Jazeera says has strained Ukraine’s dwindling interceptor stock. Ukrainian forces said they downed or suppressed 88 targets, including three Kh-59/69 missiles and 85 drones, with impacts recorded at 13 locations. In Kyiv, residents reported explosions in the city center and Pecherskyi district within minutes of the air raid alert, with fires breaking out in the Obolonskyi and Holosiivskyi districts, the Kyiv City Military Administration said.
The exchange reflects the war’s asymmetry: Ukraine’s low-cost drones are straining Russia’s supply chains and air defenses, while Moscow relies on costly missile barrages to sustain pressure on Ukrainian cities.
