Ukrainian drones strike Russian warehouse over 2,000km from border, as strikes kill several in Ukraine

Ukrainian long-range drones struck a warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, in Ekaterinburg, more than 2,000km from the Russia-Ukraine border, local officials and the company confirmed on Friday. The company said the facility caught fire but most merchandise survived undamaged. Regional governor Denis Pasler said three drones hit the warehouse roof, while Kremlin regional representative Artyom Zhoga said 800 people were evacuated and no one was injured. More than a dozen other Wildberries depots have been destroyed by Ukrainian strikes in recent weeks.

Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of Russia's security council on Friday, saying it would address strengthening protection of infrastructure facilities, without giving further details.

Sanctions and international response

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the US Senate for passing a bill imposing sweeping energy sanctions on Russia. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the vote, noting it complements the EU's 21st sanctions package. The long-delayed US bill targets Russia and countries purchasing its oil exports.

Casualties in Ukraine

On Saturday, Russian strikes on the Brovary district near Kyiv killed three people, including a child, and wounded three others. On Friday, strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk region, amid nearly 50 attacks, killed two people and wounded six, including two deaths near Nikopol. In Russian-occupied Crimea, two people died when a Ukrainian drone hit an apartment building in Kerch. Russia's defence ministry said it struck two more cargo vessels in the Black Sea allegedly serving Ukraine's military.

Zelenskyy visits Serbia, Germany convenes security council

Zelenskyy began his first official visit to Serbia on Friday, meeting President Aleksandar Vučić to discuss economic ties and security, with formal talks planned for Saturday. German chancellor Friedrich Merz convened the national security council after an explosive-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, and a separate midair collision with an unidentified object. Russia's embassy in Berlin called the drone discovery a fabricated provocation, while Germany's interior minister described it as a hybrid attack.

Russia's supreme court said it will hear a case seeking to bar Yabloko, the only registered anti-war party, from September's parliamentary elections.