Ukraine Sends Hundreds of Drones 2,500km into Russia, Hitting Wildberries

3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 10

Ukraine is now launching hundreds of domestically made long-range drones on some nights, with strikes reaching more than 2,500km inside Russia and newly targeting Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer.
Kyiv says Wildberries helps supply Russia’s war effort through listings for dual-use goods such as body armour, drone parts and fibre-optic cables; presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said 30% of such military-linked trade goes through the marketplace.
At a launch site in eastern Ukraine, one unit fired six drones in about five minutes before moving to avoid Russian reconnaissance, part of a system that hands control to remote command centres once the aircraft reach cruising altitude.
The campaign has widened from oil and gas infrastructure to commercial targets as Ukraine seeks to spread fear, impose business losses and compensate for Western sanctions that officials say failed to curb Russia’s war financing.
Russia’s oil and gas sector still provides about one-fifth of federal budget revenue, making deep-strike drones a central tool in Ukraine’s broader war of attrition and morale.