«And why doesn't dad come?» Three of seven victims of Kotovsk attack identified

The sound of passing cars can be heard in the background as Pkhabai walks through her hometown. She puts on a brave face, saying life must go on, but her voice holds emptiness and detachment. The day before, Morshansk gathered for the funeral of her only daughter, Vika. The young 21-year-old woman worked at the Wildberries warehouse in Kotovsk.

On the night of 18 July, a drone threat was declared in the Tambov region. Despite this, work at the Kotovsk warehouse was in full swing: the night shift was underway, with crowds of employees sorting goods. No one paid attention to the suspicious hum until a wall was breached. Smoke poured in. The crowd rushed to the exit: on the parking lot they piled into cars, some ran towards the swamp for cover.

Authorities later called the incident a terrorist attack and said the drones that struck the warehouse were packed with shrapnel — metal balls that riddled people«s bodies. Twenty-five employees needed medical help; seven others — four men and three women — died from their injuries on the spot.

A week has passed since the attack, but authorities have not yet released an official list of victims. Even the memorial stone placed by locals near the warehouse does not bear the names of those it honours. Journalists from the independent publication «Post-» managed to identify three of the four deceased. MSK1.RU spoke with their loved ones and shares details of the tragedy.

Viktoria Chebotareva«s Telegram has few personal photos: a couple of selfies and a picture from a Halloween celebration. For other avatars she used images from the animated series «The Owl House», and her status featured a song by St. Petersburg musician Grigory Polukhutenko titled «Spring». One of its lines goes: «I like life, I like death. I like waiting, I like knowing who I am.»

When Pkhabai starts talking about her daughter, her voice warms. According to her mother, Vika didn«t like talking much about herself and was more of an introvert by nature, but she certainly meant no harm to anyone. Pkhabai separated from Vika»s father long ago, so she raised her daughter alone. After ninth grade, her daughter studied at a college to become a cook. But the girl didn«t work in her profession and moved from Morshansk to Tambov, where she rented an apartment with friends.

«She worked at Wildberries for two years as a sorter, scanning goods. She went there with pleasure, said she got good colleagues and made friends with everyone,» Pkhabai told MSK1.RU. «As an only child, she really wanted to help me. Shortly before she died, we were thinking about renovating our place in Morshansk. Vika was determined to bring all her money home.»

Pkhabai learned about the attack on the Kotovsk warehouse from the news. Vika didn«t answer her phone, so her mother urgently drove to Tambov, searching hospitals in the hope her daughter was alive. The woman still doesn»t know what happened to her daughter in her final hours. The prosecutor«s office only told her that Vika had died. Later, at the Tambov morgue, they returned her daughter»s body to her.

«We buried Vika on 22 July in our Morshansk. Many people came to say goodbye: colleagues, school friends, friends from Tambov. Everyone supported me greatly. Thank them. Wildberries management hasn«t contacted me yet, but our local social services are already helping. Relatives help me stay strong — I have brothers and sisters here,» Pkhabai shared with MSK1.RU.

Previously, Wildberries head Tatyana Kim stated that families of the deceased would receive 2 million rubles (about $27,000 at current rates) from the company, while those seriously injured would receive 1 million rubles (about $13,000). The company told MSK1.RU that they have already begun transferring the funds.

«We are in constant contact with the victims and their relatives. We continue to assist with collecting the necessary documents. The company is fulfilling all its previously stated obligations and making the corresponding payments announced by the company«s head,» Wildberries» press service told MSK1.RU.

Another victim of the Kotovsk attack was 36-year-old Dmitry Zhidkov. For a long time he worked at the «Rusagro» sugar factory, where he met his future wife Zhanna. As she recalls, their romance developed rapidly, and they soon married. In June 2026, the Zhidkovs celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary.

«These 12 years flew by unnoticed. He was very kind, always smiling, even in difficult situations he tried to do so. When I buried two of my loved ones, he supported me, stayed close and said it«s okay, we»ll get through it,» Zhanna recalls in an interview with MSK1.RU.

In 2025, Dmitry joined Wildberries: initially combining it with his main job, then fully transitioning to the warehouse as a picker. He was the family«s sole breadwinner since Zhanna was busy raising their children. According to Dmitry»s wife, she learned that Kotovsk was «being bombed» from acquaintances. Unable to reach her husband, Zhanna drove to the warehouse. Stuck in a traffic jam of cars that had formed at the entrance, she rushed from one emergency service vehicle to another, trying to get any information.

«There were so many people: cars kept arriving and arriving. I approached the Emergencies Ministry workers and the ambulance — no one had any lists, no one said anything. Only two hours later did the prosecutor«s office hotline tell me he was gone,» Dmitry Zhidkov»s wife told MSK1.RU.

Later, Zhanna learned that her third cousin was also at the warehouse during the attack — she managed to escape.

«My cousin said that during the evacuation she saw Dima, they were walking down together but split up at some point. She says: «I went outside, turn towards the warehouse — and then a bang.» She didn«t see what happened to my husband,» Zhanna explained to MSK1.RU. «At the morgue they told me the blow came from behind. He fell on his face, on his stomach, he»s intact in the front.»

Dmitry was buried in the village of Znamenka where he lived with his family. His colleagues from «Rusagro» and «Wildberries» came to the funeral. According to Zhanna, the company hasn«t paid compensation to them yet, and her husband»s relatives helped organize the farewell. Dmitry left behind three children: sons aged 16 and 11, and a daughter aged just 6.

«I told the children right away, including the little one. Well, where else could I go? She had to say goodbye because she would have asked questions: «And why doesn»t dad come?« She knows, but due to her age she doesn»t fully understand. Sometimes she sees his photos and says: «I want to go to dad.» I try to explain to her so she accepts it as something that has happened,» Zhanna explained to MSK1.RU.

As the woman says, her husband«s big dream was to live to see his children»s weddings: to celebrate his sons« and see his daughter in a white dress. Zhanna admits she doesn»t yet know how she«ll raise the children alone, but she»s setting them up for the best. She doesn«t communicate with relatives of other victims, saying she needs to organize herself and her own life. Relatives help her cope: they provide financial support and come to sit with the children.

«For now, it«s a state of shock. We»re just slowly starting to come to our senses. We«ll think about what»s next based on circumstances,» Zhanna reflected in her conversation with MSK1.RU.

At the time of the attack, 48-year-old Alexander Starkov was not inside the warehouse. When the raid began, he was in the parking lot waiting for goods to be unloaded from his truck. Alexander was registered as a self-employed entrepreneur, engaged in transportation and collaborating with Wildberries.

«People started screaming, someone fell. He got out of the car to help. At that moment, shrapnel hit him. He wasn«t hospitalized; he died on the spot,» the deceased»s ex-wife Svetlana told MSK1.RU.

According to the woman, she and Alexander had been together since school, but divorced after 14 years of marriage. Despite the separation, the couple maintained relations for the sake of their children. Their eldest son is now 23 years old, and their youngest is 17 and studying at a college. As Svetlana notes, the man never abandoned his boys — he paid alimony and remained involved in their lives.

«There were no restrictions on communication from my side. They talked every day. Alexander was very hardworking and responsible. When I couldn«t pick the children up from kindergarten or school, he did it. He was an authority figure for his sons. They»re struggling now: at the funeral the eldest tried to keep a straight face, while the youngest took it more emotionally,» Alexander«s ex-wife told MSK1.RU.

Alexander was farewelled in his native Tambov on 20 July. Besides close relatives, his colleagues and friends attended the funeral. According to Svetlana, the promised «Wildberries» payments have already been received by her eldest son.

The names of the remaining four victims of the Kotovsk attack remain unknown. On 20 July, a memorial service was held near the logistics center, and local residents opened a memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack. As Wildberries told MSK1.RU, the warehouse resumed operations on 23 July, and the goods stored there returned to sale.

In addition to the Kotovsk warehouse, on 18 July drones also attacked a logistics center in Elektrostal near Moscow — it was the second largest in the country, covering 250,000 square meters. After the strike, a powerful fire broke out — it was only extinguished three days later. As Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov reported, at least 24 company employees were affected.