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Ukraine Is Striking Logistics - Here’s Why: Ukraine launched one of its largest long-range drone operations of the war overnight into Monday, July 20. The strikes saw more than 400 drones launched at Moscow and surrounding regions, once again targeting industrial facilities and sites. Reports also described how an oil depot south of the Russian capital was targeted.
The massive strike came less than a day after Russia responded to Ukraine’s ongoing long-range strike campaign with one of the largest ballistic missile attacks against Kyiv so far. The strikes suggest that both sides are determined to continue escalating, with Russia clearly taking advantage of Ukraine’s well-documented shortage of Patriot interceptors. Ukraine, meanwhile, continues with its proven strategy of launching both domestically made drones at sites throughout Russia, slipping through air defense systems and overwhelming them where possible.
While Moscow claimed to have intercepted the vast majority of the drones, multiple fires broke out around the capital, civilian infrastructure was damaged, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that logistics facilities and energy infrastructure were deliberately targeted.
More than 400 Drones Target Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that between approximately 8:30 p.m. Sunday and 5:00 a.m. Monday, more than 400 “enemy drones" flew toward the Moscow region.
"From 20:30 until 05:00, more than 400 enemy drones flew towards Moscow Oblast. Most of them were destroyed by air defense systems at a considerable distance from the capital. Eighty-five UAVs were destroyed while approaching Moscow,” the statement reads.
According to Sobyanin, Russia's air defenses destroyed most of the drones at a considerable distance from the capital, while another 85 were intercepted as they approached Moscow itself. The Russian Ministry of Defense also separately claimed that its forces shot down 381 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple Russian regions as well as over the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Nevertheless, the attack still penetrated Russia's defenses at multiple locations.
Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov also said 10 people were injured, including several hospitalized in Domodedovo. According to reports, those injured included three Chinese nationals working at one of the affected logistics facilities. Residential buildings, private homes, and civilian infrastructure were also damaged in several districts around Moscow.
Russian Telegram channels shared large quantities of photographs and videos of the explosions caused by the Ukrainian strikes, with drones seen striking the Wildberries logistics complex in Koledino, Moscow Oblast - one of the oldest and largest distribution facilities operating in the country.
The Logistics Targets
The overnight strikes also continued a recent trend of hitting important logistics infrastructure in the Moscow region. Drones struck the Wildberries logistics complex in Koledino - one of the largest distribution centers in Europe and a hub that Ukraine claims to have been used to move sanctioned components for Russian drone manufacturing.
Another strike hit the Yuzhnye Vorota logistics park near Domodedovo, a large warehouse and freight complex that serves Moscow’s supply network. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also claimed that an oil depot was hit in the attacks.
Ukraine Targets Logistics
When Ukraine started its long-range strikes against targets in Russia, they were in some respects symbolic. Even Operation Spider’s Web, the shocking June 1, 2025 operation that saw Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) use 117 concealed FPV drones to attack four Russian air bases - was more of a warning than a war-changing strike.
The attack destroyed and damaged some of Russia’s most valuable military aircraft, including Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers that are used to launch cruise missiles against Ukraine. The attack also took out an A-50 airborne early warning aircraft, while Kyiv claimed to have caused as much as $7 billion in damage. It was a huge blow to Russia, and an embarrassing one at that - but the strikes that have followed since that first drone-facilitated warning have been far more than just expensive warning shots. They are changing the dynamics of the war completely.
These days, rather than focusing primarily on high-profile military targets, Kyiv has begun systematically targeting the infrastructure that makes the war possible, crippling Moscow’s ability to sustain a long war. Drone strikes have hit oil refineries and fuel depots, pumping stations and energy infrastructure, all of which have contributed to major fuel shortages and rationing. The campaign has since expanded to maritime infrastructure and grain export assets in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, disrupting shipping that provides critical revenue for the Russian economy.
And now, the strikes are focusing on logistics hubs and warehouses, as well as rail infrastructure and distribution centers, suggesting Ukraine is deliberately knocking out every element of Russia’s wartime economy one by one. The effect is this: Ukrainian long-range strikes are no longer just about grabbing headlines or proving it is possible, but part of a campaign designed to destroy Russia’s ability to fight. Strikes are starving Russia economically and piling the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin from his own people - not just foreign diplomats.
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.
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