World

Ukraine launches massive drone wave against Russia; at least 12 dead overnight August 15–16

Herz — World Desk · 16 August 2026 at 12:58 · 30s summary · 2 min read

The essentials

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone waves against Russia overnight August 15–16, 2026. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 822 drones were downed, a figure that cannot be independently verified. A 200,000-square-meter Wildberries warehouse caught fire in Podolsk, near Moscow. At least eight people were reported killed in Russia, while Russian strikes killed seven people in Ukraine. At about 5 a.m., a Spanish F-18 on a NATO patrol shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace. The combined death toll remains disputed, with the sources consulted reporting at least 12 to 13 fatalities.

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone waves against Russia overnight August 15–16, 2026.
Russia said it downed 822 drones; the claim cannot be independently verified.
A 200,000-square-meter Wildberries warehouse caught fire in Podolsk, south of Moscow.
Russian strikes killed at least seven people in Ukraine during the same night.
A Spanish F-18 on NATO patrol intercepted a drone in Romanian airspace at about 5 a.m.

What is known

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone waves against Russia since the start of the war overnight Saturday, August 15, into Sunday, August 16, 2026, according to France Info and The Guardian.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said 822 drones were shot down across the country, a figure that cannot be independently verified. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 600 drones were heading toward the Moscow region and that 201 were destroyed there.

Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov described the attack as “one of the most massive in recent memory.”

A 200,000-square-meter warehouse belonging to Wildberries, a Russian e-commerce company founded in 2004, caught fire in Podolsk, south of Moscow.

At least five people were killed in Russia’s Rostov region, which borders Ukraine, according to Governor Yuri Slyusar. An 83-year-old man was also killed in the Moscow region, and two other people died in the Belgorod region.

Russian strikes on Ukraine that night

Russia also struck Ukraine during the same night, killing at least seven people, including two in Kryvyi Rih and two in the Sumy region. A ballistic missile attack on Kyiv shortly before 3 a.m. injured six people and started several fires.

A fire destroyed much of the Petrovka book market in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district. Some booksellers said they had lost their entire inventory.

Drone intercepted in Romanian airspace

At about 5 a.m. on August 16, 2026, a Spanish F-18 flying a NATO patrol shot down a drone, believed to be Russian, after it entered Romanian airspace.

Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign

Since early August 2026, Ukraine has targeted 11 of Russia’s 34 major refineries. Over the preceding month, it also attacked about 20 warehouses and buildings linked to Wildberries as part of a strategy intended to put pressure on the Russian economy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 1,550 drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles, most of them ballistic, against Ukraine during the week preceding August 16.

Ukraine expanded its long-range strike capabilities in 2026, enabling it to target sites up to 2,400 kilometers from its border.

On the diplomatic front, Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his support for Moscow in a letter. Ukraine separately accused North Korea of preparing another deployment of troops alongside Russian forces.