The war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, with both sides launching deep strikes and preparing for prolonged fighting. Over the past day, Ukraine attacked a series of targets inside Russia, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims Moscow is preparing to mobilize hundreds of thousands of additional troops after parliamentary elections next month.
🦅🇺🇦 The moment of Ukrainian FP-1 UAV attack on the Ozon logistics hub in Orenburg this morning. pic.twitter.com/bnBa6OR0qV
— MAKS 26 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) August 23, 2026
Meanwhile, Russia continues its strikes across Ukraine, with Kyiv warning of increased Russian missile production capacity and shortages of air defense systems and interceptors. The developments come as both sides signal they’re preparing for continued war and expanded strikes on infrastructure and economic targets.
Wave of Strikes Deep in Russia
Ukrainian drones struck the Orenburg region in Russia this morning (Sunday), hitting a facility belonging to Ozon, Russia’s retail and e-commerce giant. According to local authorities, Russian air defense systems intercepted six drones, and debris that fell on the facility caused a fire.
260823
St. Petersburg, KolpinoOn August 23, 2026, a fire broke out accidentally at the warehouse facility “Logistera Responsible Storage”. The area of the facility is approximately 79,200 m².
The facility was used for the responsible storage of goods and cargo, including… pic.twitter.com/d4R2qtHyzu
— Lew Anno Support#USA#NATO#Ukraine 24/2-22 (@anno1540) August 23, 2026
More than 300 employees were evacuated from the facility and operations were halted following the strike. No casualties were reported. This marks the second attack on an Ozon facility in two days, after another Ozon site in the Samara region was hit the day before.
At the same time, a massive fire broke out at a logistics facility in the St. Petersburg area. The blaze spread across a large area of the complex in the Kolpino industrial zone, with both Russian and Ukrainian reports attributing the incident to the Ukrainian drone attack. However, at this stage, there is no official and unambiguous confirmation that the fire was caused by a Ukrainian strike.
Zelenskyy: Putin Preparing to Mobilize 300,000 Troops
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed today that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a significant expansion of the Russian military. According to him, after parliamentary elections in Russia scheduled for September, the Kremlin intends to mobilize about 300,000 new soldiers.
3+Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow may later increase the scale of mobilization even further, with the move expected to focus in part on Russia’s remote regions. His remarks come against the backdrop of assessments that both sides are preparing for continued, prolonged war rather than a quick end to the fighting.
The Ukrainian president also warned of the strengthening of Russia’s missile arsenal. According to him, Moscow is increasing its production capacity and aims to reach a rate of up to 1,300 ballistic missiles per year. Zelenskyy warned of a shortage of Patriot interceptors needed to defend Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Putin Threatens Retaliation
The Ukrainian strikes against economic facilities and infrastructure deep inside Russia have already drawn an explicit threat from the Kremlin. Putin claimed that Ukraine “opened Pandora’s box” through the attacks on economic targets in Russia and made clear that Moscow intends to respond.
3+According to the Russian president, the response may focus on “the most sensitive economic sectors” of Ukraine. The threat comes after a period in which Kyiv expanded its use of long-range drones against refineries, energy facilities, warehouses and logistics centers far from the front lines.
Disturbing Footage Near Kramatorsk
Parallel to the fighting between the armies, disturbing footage from eastern Ukraine was circulated in the past day, showing a Russian drone tracking an unarmed Ukrainian teenager riding a bicycle in the Kramatorsk area.
3+The footage shows the drone approaching the boy and then attacking him. According to Ukrainian reports and publications accompanying the video, the boy was killed in the attack. At this stage, details of the incident have not been independently verified by major international news agencies.
Russia Continues Strikes – Kyiv Seeks More Air Defense
Russia is also continuing strikes deep into Ukraine. This morning, it has been reported that a Russian drone hit a passenger train locomotive in the Odessa region. Passengers were evacuated before the strike, and according to reports, there were no casualties in the incident.
3+Amid continued strikes, Zelenskyy spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about strengthening Ukraine’s air defense system. After the conversation, the Ukrainian president announced that France agreed to accelerate the supply of air defense assets to Kyiv.
The recent developments illustrate the expansion of the campaign far from the front lines in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv is intensifying strikes against economic and logistics facilities deep inside Russia; Moscow is threatening to expand strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure—and meanwhile, according to Zelenskyy, the Kremlin is already preparing to send hundreds of thousands more troops into the campaign.