Ukrainian drones struck three logistics centres operated by Russian retailer Wildberries in St. Petersburg, the Leningrad region, and Simferopol on Thursday, while a separate Ukrainian attack on the Avitek plant in Kirov killed six people and wounded 32, according to regional reports. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed strikes on a missile components facility in Kirov and an oil depot 1,350 kilometres away.
The bombardment continued across Ukraine after earlier attacks killed and wounded dozens in the south-east. A Russian strike on a weapons exhibition in Kapitanivka near Kyiv killed at least 10 people, including a representative of a Polish arms manufacturer. Russian aerial bombs on Sloviansk killed five and wounded nine, with evening shelling wounding at least 15 more. In Chernihiv, a Russian attack on energy infrastructure cut power to roughly 150,000 residents; Russia later claimed destruction of two substations there. Ukrainian air defences downed 127 of 159 drones and one missile overnight.
The European Union imposed its largest sanctions package against Russia in four years on Wednesday, targeting nearly 220 individuals and entities.