Ukraine hits Engels bomber base, Saratov refinery and Wildberries hub in overnight drone barrage

Overnight strikes

On the night of 1-2 August 2026, Ukraine's Defence Forces launched a coordinated drone attack against military, industrial and logistics targets deep inside Russia. The General Staff in Kyiv confirmed hits on the Engels-2 airbase, the Saratov oil refinery, an oil depot in Lyudinovo (Kaluga region), a drone launch and training site near Navlya (Bryansk region), and a Wildberries logistics hub in Novosemeikino (Samara region). The previous day, Ukrainian units had also struck Russian drone control points in Kursk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Engels airbase and Saratov refinery

Engels airbase, about 730 km southeast of Moscow, hosts Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine. Videos posted on social media showed an explosion at the base. The Saratov refinery, operated by Rosneft, has a capacity of roughly 7 million tonnes of crude per year (about 140,000 barrels per day) and supplies fuel to the Russian armed forces. A fire broke out after the strike, and satellite imagery from NASA's FIRMS indicated fresh thermal anomalies at the site. Regional authorities reported two civilian deaths and damage to infrastructure in Saratov and Engels.

Wildberries logistics hub hit again

The attack on the Wildberries facility in Novosemeikino is the latest in a series that began in mid-July. Ukrainian arms manufacturer Fire Point said its FP-1 drones were used in the strike.

The logistics hub in Novosemeikino is an important centre for storage, sorting and distribution of goods that ensure the uninterrupted operation of large logistics networks (in Russia).

The company added that systematic destruction of fuel and energy infrastructure increases economic pressure on Russia, disrupts supply chains and forces the adversary to spend growing resources on restoring and defending critical facilities. Wildberries, Russia's largest e-commerce platform, said no one was injured in the fire and that logistics chains were reorganised and redirected to other sites. Earlier attacks on Wildberries warehouses in Elektrostal, Kotovsk, Krasnodar, Nevinnomyssk, Simferopol, Voronezh, Penza and Ryazan had already reduced the company's logistics capacity by about 10%, according to the firm.

Russian air defence claims

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down a record 1,158 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours, according to the RBC news agency. The figure, if confirmed, would be the highest single-day tally of the war. The ministry also reported intercepting drones over several regions and occupied Crimea. Separately, the governor of Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, said almost 150 drones targeted the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky and seven other districts. In Samara region, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed the strike on the Wildberries warehouse. An independent channel, Astra, noted that a large installation with military symbols ("Z" and "V") and a Russian flag stood 450 metres from the burning warehouse.

Broader campaign and impact

The overnight barrage is part of an intensified Ukrainian campaign against Russian fuel infrastructure. On 31 July, drones struck one of Russia's largest refineries, and on 1 August they hit three Bashneft refineries in Ufa (combined capacity about 6 million tonnes per year). A second wave hit Ufa again overnight on 2 August, causing a fire in an industrial zone. Analysts warn that repeated strikes risk fuel shortages; Russia has already restricted petrol and diesel sales in some regions. President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Wildberries warehouses stored dual-use goods, including electronics, navigation equipment and components used by the Russian defence industry and in drone production.

Wildberries warehouses stored dual-use goods, including electronics, navigation equipment and other components used by the Russian defence industry and in drone production.

Moscow denies the accusation. The Ukrainian General Staff said operations to degrade Russia's ability to attack would continue.