The Wildberries warehouse in Koledino in Russia’s Moscow region burns after a Ukrainian attack, August 16, 2026
Saturday’s Coverage: Russia’s Killing of Civilians Highest Since March 2022
UPDATE 1707 GMT:
Around 2,000 demonstrators gathered in Kyiv on Sunday, calling for the reinstatement of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Fedorov was removed on July 15 by President Volodymyr Zelensky amid the Defense Minister’s dispute with military commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi. Amid the initial protests, Zelensky also dismissed Syrskyi. He offered another post to Fedorov, who declined and said he would only return to head the Defense Ministry.
The demonstrators gathered at Kyiv’s Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People. Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a war veteran and one of the organizers said the rally aims to “remind the President of the importance of dialogue between the authorities and society, as well as the fact that the President himself must bear responsibility for the consequences of all questionable personnel decisions”.
UPDATE 1217 GMT:
Russia’s missile strikes this morning have destroyed the famous Pochaina/Petrivka book market in Kyiv.
The market arose out of informal book trading in the early 1990s near the Pochaina metro station.
UPDATE 1101 GMT:
Ukraine struck a Russian Bastion coastal defense missile system in occupied Crimea overnight.
The Ukrainian Navy said it inflicted “significant losses” in Russian personnel and military equipment.
The Bastion is a relatively rare and expensive system that launches Onyx supersonic and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles at targets in and beyond southern Ukraine, often striking civilian areas.
Ukraine also hit a railway bridge, used for military logistics and troop movements, near Svitlodolynske in the partially-occupied Zaporizhzhia region.
UPDATE 1036 GMT:
At least seven civilians have been murdered and 51 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
Air defenses intercepted 85 of 106 drones and three of the missiles launched by Russia overnight. However, other missiles and drones hit 13 locations.
One drone was shot down over Romania by a Spanish F-18 fighter jet on a NATO air-policing mission. The UAV fell about 24 km (15 miles) north of the city of Galati.
In Kryvyi Rih in southeast Ukraine, two people were killed and3 injured when a plant of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest steel producer, was hit by a missile.
In the Donetsk region in the east, one person was slain and six injured.
In the Kherson region in the south, one civilian was murdered and nine wounded by Russian attacks targeting residential areas and critical and civilian infrastructure.
In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, one person was killed and eight injured.
In the Sumy region, two people were slain and two wounded. Houses, non-residential buildings, and civilian infrastructure facilities were destroyed or damaged.
Casualties were also recorded in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv regions.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted that the Russians attacked 13 regions this week with more than 1,550 attack drones, almost 1,560 guided aerial bombs, and 62 missiles, most of them ballistic.
Emergency services are working at the sites of the Russian strikes that took place this morning and last night. In Kyiv, the fires were quickly extinguished, and emergency work is now ongoing. The Russians injured six people in the city and the region. Kremenchuk and Kryvyi Rih… pic.twitter.com/BVjprWpzQ7
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2026
UPDATE 0756 GMT:
The Kremlin has betrayed its concern over Turkey’s impending sale of US-made arms to Ukraine, including 70 long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova blustered on Saturday that the delivery will cause “serious damage to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara”.
The propagandist declared that the despatch of the missiles, ammunition, and other material undermines attempts by the US and Türkiye to act as mediators.
The US State Department has asked Congress to approve the Turkish sale.
UPDATE 0749 GMT:
Ukrainian military officials say they have been using British drones in strikes deep inside Russia over the past six months.
The munitions include the BAE Systems Nyan jet-powered drone, which has been tested by the British Royal Navy, and another drone manufactured by a UK company.
A senior official cited “significant success”. Targets struck include oil refineries near Moscow, in Yaroslavl, and in Volgograd.
The Nyan drone has also been used against the city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine.
UPDATE 0745 GMT:
Three civilians have been injured by Russia’s overnight attacks on Kyiv.
Explosions were heard just before 3 a.m. Fires were set across the capital.
Further explosions and the sound of drones were heard at 9:49 a.m.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has struck more warehouses of “Russia’s Amazon”, the leading online retailer Wildberries.
Kyiv targeted sites across the Moscow region overnight. One warehouse, one of Wildberries’ largest at almost 230,000 square meters, was set afire in the village of Koledino.
The Severnoye Domodedovo production and logistics complex, covering more than 50,000 square meters, is also ablaze.
As a bonus to Koledino, another smaller Wildberries logistics hub in Domodedovo also burned during today’s attack. The facility covers several tens of thousands of square meters.
— Special Kherson Cat (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Since July 16, Ukraine has struck more than 20 Wildberries warehouses and distribution centers, inflicting billions of dollars of damage. CEO Tatyana Kim, Russia’s richest women, has appealed to the Government for assistance. She told small businesses that they cannot expect compensation for loss of stocks.
Wildberries is reportedly seeking warehouse space in Kazakhstan to avoid further strikes.
