Ukraine already took out one of the southern hubs for Russia's version of Amazon, now they are working their way north. This morning three more Wildberries warehouses were hit including a massive hub in St. Petersburg.
Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries, Moscow’s answer to Amazon, said on Friday three more of its warehouses had been attacked by Ukraine overnight, part of a widening campaign by Kyiv to damage Russia’s economy and logistics chains...
Tatyana Kim, Wildberries’ founder and Russia’s wealthiest woman, said the latest attacks on the business had targeted warehouses in St Petersburg, in the surrounding Leningrad region and in Simferopol, the main city in Russian-controlled Crimea.
“We managed to save some of the premises and goods. I would like to thank our staff, our heroes — a swift evacuation was carried out at all warehouses,” Kim said in a statement. “According to preliminary reports, there were no casualties.”
“All of our efforts are now focused on redistributing goods across our warehouses to ensure more efficient stock turnover and the economic stability of our partners,” she said.
She makes it sound like this is just a minor inconvenience but look at this.
🔥The Wildberries warehouse in Shushary, St. Petersburg, is burning hard after the overnight drone attack. Almost the entire hub is engulfed in flames.
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 24, 2026
The Shushary facility is one of Wildberries’ largest logistics hubs in northwestern Russia, covering more than 100,000 m².
It… pic.twitter.com/a6nV4i3uiB
These things burn like they are made of matches.
Close-up view of one of Wildberries’ largest logistics hubs in St. Petersburg burning after the drone strike.
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 24, 2026
The Shushary warehouse covers more than 100,000 m², and the footage shows parts of its structure already collapsing in the fire. https://t.co/Jko1YhTgBY pic.twitter.com/Wdh89gpmhy
Clear close-up view of the burning Wildberries hub in St. Petersburg. https://t.co/YEe9TuWCgh pic.twitter.com/VtIbX0ANz6
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 24, 2026
Why target these warehouses? Because it's a significant part of Russia's economy.
Together with smaller rivals, Wildberries and top competitor Ozon sell goods and services worth the equivalent of 8.5% of Russia’s gross domestic product and employ 4 million people, or more than 5% of the country’s workforce.
Also, these strikes bring the war home for hundreds of thousands of Russians who've been largely untouched by the first four years of the war.
In an interview with the Guardian, Maria said: “How can you run a business when all your company’s assets just go up in flames?”.
Maria, who asked for her surname to be withheld, added: “I’m raising a child on my own and I’ve lost everything. How am I supposed to stay calm? Yesterday you had a peaceful, normal life. You could make plans. Today I have nothing.”...
The platform is particularly popular among lower-income Russians living outside Moscow and St Petersburg – a demographic that forms a central part of Vladimir Putin’s political base. Its vast network of collection points extends into small towns and villages, where they have become fixtures of everyday life.
Wildberries has about 200 warehouses in Russia. Only nine of them have been hit so far, but the total losses are already in the billions (of US dollars).
In addition to the warehouse, drones also hit a logistics hub near St. Petersburg.
Nel centro logistico di Utkina Zavod, vicino a San Pietroburgo, tre edifici sono stati visitati dalle sanzioni ucraini di lungo raggio…simultaneamente…👇🏻#russiaisaNaziState #Wildberris https://t.co/aR0n4cqw1n pic.twitter.com/hmiSAsrLQB
— VADYM 🇺🇦🌐🇮🇹 (@VadymVietrov) July 24, 2026
Another major hub in Crimea was also hit.
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 24, 2026
Ukrainian drones just struck another massive Wildberries logistics center.
The logistics center in Simferopol is burning down to the ground right now. pic.twitter.com/x02C2pGWg1
And drones continue to hit the power grid in Crimea. There were another 19 strikes last night.
Magyar's electric update:
— 414 Magyar's Birds (@414magyarbirds) July 24, 2026
⚡️”Crimea’s Power Switch: OFF”
+19 power facilities hit over 48 hours, July 23–24: 17 in Crimea and 2 in other temporarily occupied territories, courtesy of USF pilots.
The total for the operation from July 1–24 now stands at ⚡️136 energy targets.… pic.twitter.com/61vWlFZGFg
The situation in Crimea is getting pretty dire. Some residents compare it to the "Hunger Games."
“For 12 years they told us Crimea was 100% protected,” Marina said, referring to the promises Russian officials have made since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014. “And then, within a month, we’ve been thrown back into the Stone Age – no electricity, no water, no fuel.”
...as Ukrainian drones increasingly targeted the peninsula’s energy infrastructure, the crisis has quickly moved beyond petrol. More than 70% of Crimea’s roughly 2.5 million residents have experienced some form of power outage, according to a Guardian analysis, while many have now gone several consecutive days without electricity or running water...
“The authorities kept insisting Crimea was ready for anything. Literally anything. It turns out the authorities failed to prepare for the worst,” he says. “People are hunting for fuel like it’s The Hunger Games.”...
...in Crimea, many residents said the Kremlin’s reassurances only deepened their frustration. “They keep telling us these are only temporary problems,” said Dmitry, a university student. “We’ve been living like this for weeks. This isn’t normal life, and it can’t go on much longer.”
Finally, there was a strike last night on the Aviatek military plant.
Defence Intelligence of Ukraine indicates that the company specialises in the production of anti-aircraft missiles, target missiles used for air defence training, ejection seats and aviation systems.
Avitek contributes to the production of the Tor surface-to-air missile system and Kh-101 and Kh-59M2/Kh-59M2A missiles by supplying individual engine components.
⚡️❗️At least six workers were killed and 26 injured as a result of the FP-5 Flamingo missile strike on Russia’s Avitek defense plant in Kirov, according to Kirov region governor.
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 24, 2026
Avitek produces surface-to-air missile components, works on Tor air defense systems, supplies… https://t.co/cZTKEjhu3r pic.twitter.com/a7NkkBCPxH
Not bad for a single night of drone strikes. And one thing that's certain is we'll see more of the same next week. How long can Putin keep up the pretense that all is well?
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy HotAir's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member