Ukrainian drone strike ignites Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Vladimir region, two injured

Drone strike and warehouse fire

On Monday, a Ukrainian drone struck a Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Vladimir region, causing a fire. The company, often described as Russia's Amazon, said staff were evacuated and firefighters were deployed. Logistics operations were rerouted to other facilities to maintain deliveries and shipments as usual. The attack is the latest in a series of strikes on the online retailer's infrastructure.

Casualties

Governor Alexander Avdeyev reported that a young man sustained a non-life-threatening head wound and was taken to hospital. A woman living nearby suffered minor injuries to one of her legs. No fatalities were recorded in this incident, contrasting with earlier attacks that caused significant casualties.

Systematic targeting of Wildberries

Since mid-July, Ukraine has struck around 20 Wildberries sites across Russia and annexed Crimea. The initial wave on the night of July 17-18 hit facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions, killing eight people and wounding nearly 90. Subsequent drone attacks targeted locations near Saint Petersburg, in Simferopol (Crimea), Krasnodar, Volgograd, and Samara. The company's warehouses have become a frequent target in the conflict.

Broader campaign

The strikes on Wildberries are part of a wider Ukrainian campaign of long-range drone attacks on civilian infrastructure inside Russia. Kyiv says the aim is to pressure the Kremlin into negotiating an end to the war, which Russia launched with its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, has seen its logistics network repeatedly disrupted as a result.