Ukrainian drones torched Russian warehouses and Iranian drones struck American military installations across the Middle East this week, and you are paying for both fronts while your own country's infrastructure rots and your border stays wide open.
Two wars, two drone campaigns, one tab — yours. In Eastern Europe, American-funded Ukrainian forces are burning through Russian logistics hubs. In the Persian Gulf, Iranian drones are hitting U.S. military bases in at least four countries. Neither conflict has a defined exit strategy. Neither serves a clear American interest. Both consume billions that could rebuild American bridges, secure the American border, or lower American prices.
Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries — Moscow's answer to Amazon — said Friday that Ukrainian drones struck three more of its warehouses overnight, part of Kyiv's widening campaign to damage Russia's economy and logistics chains, NBC News reported. Video from St. Petersburg showed giant plumes of thick smoke rising into the sky. Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim, Russia's wealthiest woman, said the attacks targeted warehouses in St. Petersburg, the surrounding Leningrad region, and Simferopol in Russian-controlled Crimea.
"We managed to save some of the premises and goods," Kim said in a statement. "According to preliminary reports, there were no casualties."
Eight Wildberries warehouses — over 10% of the company's logistics capacity — have been attacked since July 18, when the first strike killed eight workers. Zelenskyy has described the targets as logistics hubs supplying Russian forces with drone components. The Kremlin denies Wildberries handles military supplies. Kim has accused Ukraine of attacking ordinary people doing their jobs.
Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack killed six people and injured dozens in Ukraine's Kyiv region on Friday, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Half a world away, the same week brought another drone barrage — this time targeting Americans. Sirens sounded across Bahrain on Friday as Iranian drones struck U.S. military infrastructure, according to The Jerusalem Post. Iran's army took responsibility, with the semi-official ISNA reporting that drones targeted fuel tanks, warehouses, and accommodations at the U.S. Sheikh Issa base in Bahrain. The IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency reported strikes on an observation tower at the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet and on Amazon's data center in Bahrain.
Earlier overnight strikes targeted U.S. Air Force infrastructure at Jordan's Al-Azraq base, and Tasnim reported drones launched at American bases in Kuwait and Qatar. A drone also crashed near Erbil International Airport in Iraq, temporarily suspending flights.
NBC News framed the Ukrainian strikes as part of a campaign to make "ordinary Russians feel the impact of the war." The Jerusalem Post reported the Iranian attacks straight, noting Iran's open claim of responsibility. Neither outlet pressed the question that matters most to the American paying for it all: what is the U.S. exit strategy, and what exactly is the return on this investment?
Wildberries and its rivals sell goods worth 8.5% of Russia's GDP and employ 5% of its workforce. The EU just sanctioned Wildberries' banking arm for its financial contribution to the Russian budget. Iran is hitting U.S. bases across the Gulf with impunity. The bipartisan establishment wrote the checks for Ukraine and stationed the troops in the Gulf. The bill arrives at your door.
