Russian-Ukrainian Escalation Continues as Drone Strikes Kill 7

Date: 19 July 2026 - 00:41

News ID: ۱۵۱۸۹۹

MOSCOW (Dispatches) - Russian and Ukrainian forces intensified drone attacks on Saturday, leaving seven people dead, dozens injured and causing extensive damage to logistics facilities and port infrastructure as both sides expanded long-range strikes.
According to Russia’s Sputnik news agency, Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said a Ukrainian drone attack targeted a Wildberries logistics center, killing seven people, injuring 25 others and sparking a large fire.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 370 Ukrainian drones had flown toward the Russian capital since Friday evening, adding that air defenses intercepted most of them before they reached the city and destroyed 64 during their approach.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out coordinated strikes using precision weapons and drones against fuel unloading infrastructure at the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in southern Ukraine. It also said two vessels carrying military cargo were hit in and near Chornomorsk port.
Meanwhile, Ukraine announced it had targeted 13 vessels from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, including cargo ships, an oil tanker, a gas carrier, a tugboat and two floating cranes.
Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform quoted Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert Brovdi as saying the operation, codenamed “Molochka,” targeted 172 Russian vessels between July 6 and 18 in an effort to disrupt logistics supporting Russian oil, fuel and cargo shipments.
The conflict, which began in February 2022, has increasingly shifted toward long-range drone warfare, with both sides striking logistics hubs, infrastructure and industrial facilities deep behind the front lines.