The sun disappeared over the greater Moscow area on Saturday morning following a new Ukraine drone strike that triggered massive fires and thick clouds of black smoke visible for miles around.
Videos circulating on social media show a sky almost entirely blanketed in smoke, with users commenting that “the sun isn’t even visible.” The footage has gone viral, capturing the sheer scale of the fires that erupted in the wake of the explosions.
The sun is not even visible: Moscow region in Russia was covered by thick black smoke after a strike on an oil refinery.
Apocalyptic footage. pic.twitter.com/AThjxg7cwP
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 18, 2026
Moscow: Wildberries’ major logistics hub targeted
According to reports, Ukrainian drones targeted the second-largest logistics center of Wildberries — Russia’s biggest e-commerce giant — located in the Moscow region. The complex was engulfed in flames, with videos showing the entire building ablaze and massive columns of black smoke rising over the area. Seven workers were killed in the strike and 24 others were injured.
Dziś rano ukraińskie drony szturmowe skutecznie zaatakowały drugie co do wielkości centrum realizacji zamówień rosyjskiego giganta e-commerce Wildberries, położone w okolicach Moskwy.
Na nagraniu widać obiekt całkowicie objęty płomieniami, nad którym unoszą się potężne kłęby… pic.twitter.com/EuIWvMS65c
— Monitor Konfliktów (@Monitor807) July 18, 2026
🇺🇦🇷🇺 After hammering Russian ships in the Black Sea and torching Putin’s oil depots and refineries, Ukrainian drones have now struck the second-largest warehouse of Russia’s e-commerce giant, Wildberries.
This isn’t just about tanks and trenches anymore.
Ukraine is now going… pic.twitter.com/VnMZRtSaiY
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 18, 2026
Oil facilities also reported hit
Strikes on oil facilities were also reported, with images from the area showing dense smoke blanketing the sky. Russian media outlets and social media users posted videos of the large-scale fires, while local authorities have yet to announce the full extent of the damage.
Zelensky effectively claims responsibility
Hours later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the strikes in a post, stating that Ukrainian forces had successfully hit strategic targets deep inside Russian territory. He said that “long-range operations delivered results across three separate areas,” noting that two major logistics facilities had been destroyed in the Moscow and Tambov regions, at distances of over 500 and nearly 700 kilometers from the front line.
According to the Ukrainian president, the targeted facilities were being used by Russia to source sanctioned components destined for drone production, as well as navigation equipment. Zelensky also referenced a strike on an oil facility, along with attacks by Ukrainian medium-range weapons against targets in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, and occupied Crimea.
Wrapping up his post, the Ukrainian president congratulated the Unmanned Systems Forces, Special Forces, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service (SBU), and Military Intelligence, praising the “precise and excellently coordinated execution of the operations.”
Today, our long-range sanctions worked across three areas on Russian territory, as well as on our temporarily occupied land and at sea. In particular, in response to Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities, two major logistics facilities… pic.twitter.com/oK87chn24u
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 18, 2026
Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign inside Russia escalates
The strikes represent yet another chapter in Ukraine’s escalating campaign against strategic energy, industrial, and supply infrastructure inside Russia, as Kyiv seeks to sever critical Russian military supply chains far behind the front line.
