Ukrainian Drone Strikes Target Wildberries Warehouses, Damaging Billions in Goods and Impacting Russian Small Businesses
Ukrainian drone strikes have begun targeting the warehouses of Wildberries, Russia's largest e-commerce platform, causing significant economic damage to small business owners and independent merchants. While Wildberries does not primarily manufacture weapons, the platform is used by soldiers and volunteers to purchase military-related goods such as body armor and drone components. The strikes have destroyed merchandise worth an estimated 170 billion roubles, with many small entrepreneurs expressing frustration over the limited compensation provided by the company. In the Moscow region, a drone strike on a warehouse in Chekhov damaged an apartment building, though no casualties were reported. Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 390 drones were tracked in the skies above the wider Moscow region, with most being intercepted by air defenses. The administration announced that the strikes are a new phase in Ukraine's long-range campaign, aimed at eroding the sense of normality in Russian urban life. While the defenders of the strikes argue they are legitimate military targets, critics note that the majority of the goods sold on the platform are ordinary consumer products.
Sources
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Almost 400 Ukrainian drones attack Moscow and Moscow region
Meduza
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‘Russia opened Pandora’s box first, and now it’s paying for it’: Are Wildberries warehouses legitimate targets? Meduza readers weigh in on Ukraine’s strikes.
Meduza
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Hundreds of Ukrainian Drones Target Moscow in Overnight Blitz
The Moscow Times
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Ukraine strikes on Russia’s ‘Amazon’ warehouses bring war closer to ordinary people
The Guardian