live Zelenskyy announces return to strikes on Russian oil refineries after brief pause
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions wi...
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
Tens of thousands of students have taken to the streets across Albania to protest rising education costs and corruption, with demonstrations turning violent. Prime Minister Edi Rama has rejected calls to resign, insisting his government will remain in office.
Britain has announced new military, energy and nuclear-safety support for Ukraine following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s talks with Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London.
A maritime dispute between Washington and Madrid is escalating after a U.S. federal agency proposed new measures that could affect Spanish shipping companies and a range of exports headed to the American market.
Kenya has confirmed a second case of Ebola, intensifying efforts to prevent the spread of the virus after the country recorded its first-ever infection earlier this month.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment