Ukrainian drones hit more Russian online retailer Wildberries sites

BBC

Ukrainian drones have hit warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer again, injuring 15 people, according to the company's founder and regional governors.

Logistics hubs run by Wildberries in two south-west cities were impacted by overnight attacks, leading to workers being evacuated, the founder said.

It is the second time Ukraine has attacked the firm's facilities in four days, with warehouses in Tambov and Elektrostal hit on Saturday, killing eight and injuring 62.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine struck logistics hubs in the Krasnodar and Stavropol regions that are "involved in providing the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment and other gear".

Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim confirmed the attacks on two logistics centres in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk in the Stavropol region on Telegram.

"There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on us, who are simply doing our jobs," she wrote. "But these situations demonstrate the most important thing: we must continue to do what we do for the benefit of people."

Five people were hurt in a warehouse complex on the outskirts of Nevinnomyssk, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on Telegram, with everyone receiving outpatient treatment.

In Krasnodar, ten people were injured in an attack on a warehouse complex, with three in a serious condition, the region's governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.

Footage of both warehouses, verified by BBC Verify, shows fires in the aftermath of the attacks.

Video from Krasnodar captures an enormous column of black smoke rising from the structure as flames leap upwards. Nevinnomyssk footage shows people milling around outside as fireballs erupt in smoke streaming from the building.

Krasnodar's governor said the region was hit by a "massive attack last night", with drone debris also hitting the grounds of a company in the city of Armavir and killing one employee. The city administration reported that an oil depot was struck, causing a fire.

No injuries

Drone fragments also hit two apartment buildings in Krasnodar and two private homes in the village of Dinskaya, Kondratyev said. There were no injuries.

Zelensky said Ukraine had struck an oil depot, as well as a tanker and four cargo ships of the Russian shadow fleet in the waters of the Sea of Azov and Black Sea.

Russia has been operating a "shadow fleet" to evade international sanctions imposed on its oil exports after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Serhii Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, has previously told the BBC that Russian volunteers had used Wildberries' website to buy military equipment.

"The primary rationale for striking Wildberries' warehouses is to disrupt Russian logistics and the supply of dual-use goods, critical electronics, sanctioned goods and the like to the Russian army and Russian arms manufacturers," he said.

"The collateral damage from such strikes could also have a serious impact on the Russian economy, as well as a psychological effect on Russian society and, likely, on continued support for the war."

A still taken from a social media video verified by Reuters shows smoke rising above a warehouse. Dan Sales

Social Media/Reuters