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Ukrainian Drone Strikes Knock Out 10% of Russia's Wildberries Capacity
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Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, suspended operations at a warehouse in the Voronezh region after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack, Reuters reported on July 23.
The company announced the closure through its regional team on Telegram and later confirmed the site's status directly to the news agency.
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Kyiv has struck four Wildberries warehouses since the weekend, Reuters noted, on the grounds that the facilities form part of infrastructure supporting the Russian military.
The governor of Russia's Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, reported that the roof of a warehouse belonging to an online marketplace had been damaged in the overnight attack. Gusev did not name the owner of the building.
The Wildberries team in Voronezh wrote on Telegram on the morning of July 23 that it was extending the suspension of operations from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. A later post indicated the warehouse would stay closed. "We see all your inquiries and concerns," the company wrote. "Please be patient."
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Open-source data analysis by the Russian daily Kommersant found that the recent attacks damaged roughly 10% of Wildberries' logistics capacity. That amounts to 552,000 square meters (5.9 million square feet) of warehouse space.
The Kremlin has denied that Wildberries handles military supplies. It has acknowledged that the company, along with the small and medium-sized businesses selling on its platform, absorbed financial losses.
Wildberries and its top competitor, Ozon, together with smaller rivals, sell goods and services worth 8.5% of Russia's gross domestic product. The sector employs 4 million people, more than 5% of the country's workforce.
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The company has not commented on the scale of the damage. Contacted by Reuters on July 23, it stated only: "Warehouse operations will resume shortly."
The campaign against Russian logistics network opened days earlier. Ukrainian long-range drones struck Wildberries logistics centers in the Moscow and Tambov regions overnight on July 18, igniting fires at the Elektrostal distribution hub and at a warehouse in Kotovsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the facilities had been used to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.
The pressure intensified two days later. Drones reportedly hit an oil depot and four major logistics facilities near Moscow overnight on July 20, setting off at least five fires across the region.
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