At least six people were injured in overnight drone strikes on Russia’s Volgograd and Rostov regions. In Volgograd, a Wildberries logistics complex, along with a separate facility connected with the fuel and energy sector (reportedly an oil refinery), caught fire. In Tatarstan, authorities reported attacks on a logistics center in Zelenodolsk and an industrial hub in Nizhnekamsk.
In addition, in Volgograd, an apartment building in the city’s Traktorozavodsky district and a private house in the Krasnoarmeysky district were damaged. Fires broke out at a fuel-and-energy sector facility in the south of the city and at warehouse premises in the Dzerzhinsky district, said Governor Andrei Bocharov. Five people were hospitalized; authorities did not comment on their condition.
The Insider analyzed data from the NASA FIRMS fire monitoring system. At 4:39 a.m. Moscow time on July 31, four thermal anomalies were recorded in the industrial zone of Volgograd’s Dzerzhinsky district. In addition to the Wildberries center, the area houses other industrial facilities, including a drilling equipment plant, the Reemtsma-Volga tobacco factory, a wholesale depot, and the site of a former motor plant.
The independent outlet Astra, using photos and videos posted by eyewitnesses, identified the burning facility as being the Wildberries complex on Buzuluksky Proyezd, with an area of over 48,000 square meters. The press service of Wildberries’ parent company confirmed the strike on the logistics facility. According to preliminary reports, no one at the warehouse was injured. The deliveries and dispatch of orders were rerouted to other facilities.
The fuel-and-energy sector facility where the fire was reported appears to be the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka oil refinery. Astra cites local residents who describe the strike on the plant, and satellites detected numerous thermal anomalies at and near the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka refinery. The densest cluster of such hotspots falls directly on the plant’s industrial site. However, no independent confirmation has become available, and it remains possible that the thermal signature could be the result of gas flares that are operating normally.
A logistics center in Zelenodolsk district of Tatarstan was also struck — purportedly by “falling debris” — said district head Mikhail Afanasyev. He did not report any casualties or damage and did not specify which facility was targeted. Based on analysis of available footage, Astra reports a hit on the Wildberries complex at the Zelenodolsk industrial site, as videos posted by eyewitnesses show smoke rising above the area.
Satellites detected no thermal anomalies near the Wildberries logistics center in Zelenodolsk. However, this does not rule out a brief or minor fire that had already subsided before the satellite passed over, or one which was not intense enough to be detected. The Wildberries press service did not comment on the strike on its Tatarstan center, stating only that the warehouse was operating normally.
Ukrainian Telegram channels also published video of a drone explosion near what was claimed to be an Ozon logistics complex in Zelenodolsk. The company told state-owned news agency TASS that the complex and the goods stored there were not damaged, and that the warehouse resumed operations after staff who had been evacuated returned to their workplaces.
Residents of Nizhnekamsk reported multiple explosions and intense flaring at one of the city’s oil refineries. It remains unclear, however, whether the intensified flaring was a consequence of the attack or a routine process. Nizhnekamsk district head Radmir Belyaev stated that a drone had been shot down over the city, adding that there had been no casualties or damage, and that industrial processes at the plants continued uninterrupted. He provided no further details.
NASA FIRMS recorded numerous thermal anomalies in Nizhnekamsk’s industrial zone. The densest cluster falls on the territory of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, with individual anomalies visible near the Nizhnekamsk CHPP-2 and the TANECO refinery.
An apartment building was damaged in a drone strike on the city of Gukovo in the Rostov region, claims Governor Yuri Slyusar. He added that the building’s inter-floor slabs were destroyed, and that its residents had to be evacuated to a temporary shelter. In Bataysk, private homes and a shop were damaged, while in Rostov-on-Don a tree line caught fire following the downing of a drone.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting more than 370 drones over several regions.
