Ukrainian Strikes Russian Oil Refinery and Wildberries Hub Overnight: Ukraine launched another long-range drone attack deep inside Russia overnight into July 29, targeting energy infrastructure and logistics facilities, including more Wildberries logistics hubs. It forms part of a larger campaign against Russia’s industrial base, targeting warehouses and logistics facilities that Kyiv says are supporting Russian military operations.
Russian authorities said that air defenses intercepted dozens of drones overnight, but strikes still caused fires in the Ryazan region and forced Russia’s largest online retailer to evacuate a major logistics warehouse.
Ukraine Tank Firing. Creative Commons Image.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later confirmed that Ukrainian forces had struck an oil refinery and a logistics center in Ryazan, as well as military facilities in occupied Crimea.
What Zelenskyy Said
Describing the strikes as the latest round of “long-range sanctions,” Zelenskyy described how strikes occurred as far away as 360 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
“We have new results from our long-range sanctions targeting Russian facilities that work to support and prolong the war. An oil refinery and logistics center in Ryazan were hit. The distance from the Ukrainian border is about 360 kilometers. A site where the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s high-speed boats are based in our temporarily occupied Crimea was also hit. Long-range sanctions were also carried out against an oil refinery in the Perm region, as well as an export terminal and a military enterprise in the Rostov region,” the Ukrainian president said on X.
“I thank our warriors for their precision, and I thank everyone who makes these long-range results possible. Russia must feel that every day of this war will only come at a higher cost for it. We need to weaken the aggressor and keep up the pressure to bring an end to this war closer.”
T-84 Tank from Ukraine War. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Ryazan refinery is one of the largest refining facilities in Russia and has repeatedly been targeted in Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign because of its role in domestic fuel production and military supply chains. Previous Ukrainian missile and drone attacks have temporarily disrupted operations at the refinery and contributed to the ongoing fuel shortages throughout the country.
Fires Break Out Across Ryazan
Ryazan, located around 120 miles southeast of Moscow, was among the primary targets during the overnight operation.
Regional Governor Pavel Malkov said Russian air defenses had destroyed 45 Ukrainian drones over the region, but falling debris had caused fires at an industrial site and damaged nearby residential properties. Six people were reportedly hospitalized with injuries.
The attack also forced Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce company, often compared to Amazon, to evacuate one of its largest logistics hubs after a fire engulfed part of the warehouse complex.
Images and videos circulating on social media appeared to show thick black smoke rising from the distribution center as emergency workers attempted to contain the fire. Wildberries also announced that it had temporarily suspended operations at the site while the damage was being assessed.
The company also said that the Ryazan facility is the seventh Wildberries warehouse to be damaged during the recent wave of Ukrainian strikes. Collectively, those attacks have affected roughly 10% of the retailer’s warehousing capacity, disrupting tens of thousands of independent companies that use the platform to sell products across Russia. The company also says that it has begun searching for additional storage capacity, including facilities in neighboring Kazakhstan, to reduce the risk of future strikes and to maintain delivery schedules.
Other Regions Affected
The overnight strikes also affected several other Russian regions. In Taganrog, a city on the Sea of Azov that hosts a number of industrial facilities and a major grain terminal, regional Governor Yury Slyusar said debris from intercepted projectiles struck an apartment building. The strike reportedly killed one woman and injured another resident.
Russian authorities also reported attacks in the Perm region and in occupied Crimea. Ukraine also said that strikes targeted naval infrastructure supporting Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Russia Claims Battlefield Gains
While overnight long-range strikes continued to cause disruption to everyday Russian life, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had captured the village of Svitle in the Donetsk region and Nova Sich in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region. Moscow also claimed its drones struck two vessels transporting weapons and military equipment east of the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
The attacks came a day after Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where the two leaders discussed the possibility of expanding cooperation on defense production, including the joint manufacturing of Patriot missile interceptors.
The strikes also come as Ukraine continues to push its Western allies to speed up the delivery of interceptors capable of preventing Russian ballistic missile attacks. While the well-documented shortage persists, Russia continues to exploit the gap, launching barrages of missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities in response to the recent rise in long-range Ukrainian strikes.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
