Ukraine strikes two more Wildberries warehouses in southern Russia

Ukraine strikes two more Wildberries warehouses in southern Russia
Smoke rises from a Wildberries warehouse on fire after an attack in Nevinnomyssk, Russia, 22 July, 2026, Reuters
Reuters

Ukraine struck two more warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries on Wednesday, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, Tatyana Kim, said, in the latest wave of drone attacks targeting Russia’s consumer infrastructure.

Kim said facilities in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, both in southern Russia, were hit. Footage verified by Reuters showed a large plume of smoke rising above a warehouse in Krasnodar after the attack.

Wildberries, often compared with Amazon in Russia, is one of the country’s largest employers and among its biggest online marketplaces. Although the company is not publicly listed, shares in rival e-commerce platform Ozon fell 4% on the Moscow Exchange on Wednesday amid concerns it could also become a target.

Kyiv says strikes target military-linked logistics

The attacks mark a further expansion of Ukraine’s campaign of long-range drone strikes inside Russia, aimed at disrupting Moscow’s war effort and bringing the impact of the conflict closer to Russian civilians.

Ukraine says it is targeting companies and infrastructure that support Russia’s military operations.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that the latest targets were logistics hubs involved in supplying Russian forces with drone components and other equipment.

The Kremlin has denied that Wildberries is involved in supplying military materials.

Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian logistics infrastructure, energy facilities and power networks throughout its full-scale invasion.

Previous strike killed eight workers

The latest attacks came days after a Ukrainian drone strike on Wildberries facilities on Saturday killed eight employees, sparked fires and disrupted the company’s operations.

"There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on all of us who are simply doing our jobs," Kim said in a statement on Telegram following the latest strikes.

The full extent of the damage from Wednesday’s attacks remains unclear.

Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said 10 people were wounded in an attack on a storage complex, without naming Wildberries directly.

Authorities said a helicopter and more than 100 firefighters had been deployed to contain the warehouse fire.

Businesses seek tax relief after attacks

Russia’s e-commerce lobby group AUREK has asked the government to defer tax payments for six months for companies affected by the attacks.

Wildberries began as an online retailer selling clothing from European catalogues before expanding into a broader marketplace for third-party sellers.

The company has not provided details of the scale of the damage.

Russia’s online retail market has grown rapidly in recent years. According to the Association of Internet Trade Companies, online sales rose by 28% in 2025 to 11.5 trillion roubles (US$147 billion).

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said sales of goods and services through digital platforms account for around 8.5% of Russia’s gross domestic product.

Tags