Russia destroyed Ukraine’s largest supermarket distribution hub in a missile and drone barrage that also killed workers, burned humanitarian supplies, and hit a factory making baby food — all civilian targets with no Russian military justification provided.
Story Highlights
- Russia destroyed the Novus supermarket chain’s only distribution hub in Kyiv — a 40,000-square-meter facility consolidated from seven smaller warehouses — killing four delivery drivers and injuring five.
- A separate Russian drone attack on Lviv burned down a warehouse storing humanitarian supplies and killed one person. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a deliberate strike on a civilian area.
- A Russian drone hit a dairy factory near Kyiv that made infant formula and yogurt, killing four people and injuring seven more.
- Russia claimed its strikes targeted military and energy facilities, but provided no specific evidence linking any of these sites to military operations.
A Supermarket Hub Reduced to Rubble
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones in late November 2025. One strike hit the sole logistics center of the Novus supermarket chain in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district. The facility covered 40,000 square meters and had been consolidated from seven smaller warehouses. Four delivery drivers were killed and five others were injured. The strike left a large crater and caused severe destruction across the site.
Novus confirmed the loss publicly. The company said the hub was its only distribution center — meaning the entire supply chain for one of Ukraine’s major grocery chains was wiped out in a single strike. Russian officials claimed their strikes targeted military and energy facilities, but provided no specific documents, targeting logs, or other evidence linking the Novus center to any military purpose.
Humanitarian Warehouse and Baby Food Factory Also Hit
In the western city of Lviv, a Russian drone struck a warehouse storing humanitarian supplies. The attack started a large fire and killed one man. Zelenskyy publicly called the Lviv strike “deliberate” and said it was aimed at a civilian area. Russia’s pattern of hitting non-military storage sites — food distribution, humanitarian aid, and consumer goods — has drawn repeated condemnation from Ukraine and Western governments.
In a separate attack near Kyiv in June 2026, Russian drones hit a dairy factory that produced infant formula and yogurt. Four people were killed and seven were injured. The Kyiv Regional Military Administration confirmed the strike. Taken together, these attacks form a consistent pattern: civilian food infrastructure — grocery hubs, aid warehouses, and food factories — is being destroyed, regardless of any military purpose.
Russia’s Explanation Falls Short
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its strikes targeted Ukraine’s “military-industrial and energy facilities.” Officials also claimed the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on civilian sites inside Russia. But no Russian statement specifically named the Novus logistics center, the Lviv humanitarian warehouse, or the dairy factory as military targets. No targeting documents, facility blueprints, or forensic reports have been released to support those claims.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Kyiv after Russia's massive overnight attack. At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured, including two children.
In the Kharkiv region, five people, among them a child, were injured after Russian drone attacks struck homes,… pic.twitter.com/XKzIeCh1bp
— UKR Embassy in USA (@UKRintheUSA) July 2, 2026
Meanwhile, Russian strikes have wiped out roughly a quarter of Kyiv’s warehouse space since the full-scale invasion began. That is not a side effect — it is a measurable, documented result. Whether or not Russia labels these strikes as military operations, the consistent outcome is the destruction of civilian supply chains that ordinary Ukrainians depend on for food, medicine, and daily goods. Both sides in this war have targeted each other’s infrastructure. But the documented evidence of what was destroyed here — groceries, baby formula, and humanitarian aid — does not fit the military target description Russia offered.
Sources:
insiderpaper.com, pravda.com.ua, pbs.org, youtube.com, defensenews.com
