Overnight into Sunday, Ukraine launched one of the most massive drone attacks on Russia since the war began, while Russia retaliated with missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Sources disagree on the exact number of casualties.
During the night into Sunday, August 16, 2026, Ukraine carried out one of the largest drone attacks on Russia since the start of the war, targeting Moscow and numerous logistical hubs. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that 822 drones were shot down across the country, while the Military Summary channel claims that over 2,100 drones were intercepted within 48 hours, with 1,433 directed at Moscow over a week.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, called the attack "one of the most massive in recent times." According to him, 187 drones were intercepted over the Moscow region, while Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, claims there were 201, with a total of 600 aircraft directed toward the region. The figures vary, and independent verification is not possible.
Among the targets hit were warehouses of the Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries. In Podolsk, near Moscow, a new warehouse was struck, and a fire also broke out at a warehouse in the village of Koledino. Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed the attack on Wildberries' largest warehouse, covering 250,000 square meters, and stated that "Ukraine has put out of operation seven of Wildberries' ten largest logistics centers."
In the Rostov region, Governor Yuri Slyusar reported 150 downed drones and missiles, with five dead and one wounded. Ukraine's General Staff said the attacks targeted the Kamensky Combine, a state enterprise producing solid rocket fuel for the Uragan, Smerch, and Tornado-S rocket systems, stating that "the products of this plant are directly used for the needs of the Russian armed forces."
In Domodedovo, the Severnoye Domodedovo production and logistics complex was set ablaze, and drones were also intercepted over Stupino, Odintsovo, Naro-Fominsk, Ramenskoye, Chekhov, Kolomna, Kashira, and Yegoryevsk. In previous days, Ukraine struck the Savasleyka military air base and a Roscosmos facility in the Samara region, a Russian Baltic port, and a Wildberries logistics center in Novaya Usman. The attack on that logistics center was confirmed by Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces. It is worth noting that in July, the EU sanctioned Wildberries' banking subsidiary for its financial contribution to the Russian state budget.
Russia simultaneously launched missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. In Kyiv, a popular open-air book fair was hit, with at least four people killed and six wounded, according to France 24. Le Monde reports three dead in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
At the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, Russian drones and missiles killed two people and wounded 14, and the plant partially suspended operations. Two people were also killed in Zaporizhzhia and one in Sumy. In the Rostov region, five people died in a residential area, with three more in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Moscow regions, and three in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories.
Sources disagree on the total number of dead. Tportal reports at least 16 dead in Russia and Ukraine combined, the BBC reports at least seven dead in Russia, while Al Jazeera and NPR News report at least six dead in Russia. Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed the capture of the settlement of Kudiivka, and according to the Military Summary channel, the battle for Orikhiv has also begun.
A Wildberries warehouse worker, 18-year-old Beka, told AFP: "We were working calmly. The evacuation started, so I left the warehouse. There was bombing. Many had nowhere to return to work."
