On the night of August 26, 2026, one of the largest logistics centers of the Russian online retailer Wildberries, located in the city of Kotovsk (Tambov region), was engulfed in a large-scale fire after an attack with drones. As of 4:15 a.m. Bulgarian time, emergency teams were still working at the site, and the operation of the strategic facility was temporarily suspended.
Timeline of the air strike in the Tambov region
The first warnings of the danger of drones in the region were issued around midnight, which necessitated the urgent introduction of flight restrictions at the nearby airport in the city of Tambov. According to local residents' accounts on social media, within about 40 minutes, at least 10 powerful explosions thundered in the area, followed by thick black smoke and open flames on the territory of the industrial zone.
Information about the second strike on the facility was spread rapidly by independent OSINT analysts and specialized monitoring channels, including Ukrainskaya Pravda (https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2026/08/26/8050322/) and Focus.ua (https://focus.ua/voennye-novosti/765743-drony-atakovali-tambovskuyu-oblast-rf-v-kotovske-v-polnom-plameni-nahoditsya-hab-wildberries-video). At the time of publication, the Russian state authorities and the Ministry of Emergency Situations have not yet issued a final official statement on the number of affected sections and possible casualties among the night shift employees.
The significance of the logistics hub in Kotovsk
The attacked warehouse in Kotovsk is among the most modern and key infrastructure assets of the marketplace in Central Russia. The facility began partial operation in 2025, with its design capacity providing for the storage of up to 54 million units of goods upon its full completion.
This new attack is part of a broader and systematic campaign by Ukrainian forces in the summer of 2026, aimed at the economic and logistics infrastructure of the Russian Federation. As noted in an expert analysis by the Russian edition of the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cx2jppgyj38o) and the investigative portal Meduza (meduza.io), the attacks on the warehouses of giants such as Wildberries and Ozon are aimed at disrupting supply chains. Previous serious incidents with burned-down company warehouses were recorded earlier this month in Podolsk and the Leningrad Region.