A large-scale drone strike by Ukraine has hit the warehouses of Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, killing one staff member and injuring several others. The attack on Tuesday night targeted multiple sites, including a storage complex in Krasnodar and warehouses in Nevinnomyssk, with drone debris also damaging two high-rise apartment buildings.
Attack Details and Casualties
Krasnodar's regional governor, Veniamin Kondratiev, confirmed that 10 people were injured after a storage complex was struck. In Armavir, a worker was killed when drone debris fell on a building, local authorities reported. The company's head, Tatyana Kim, stated on Wednesday that warehouses in Nevinnomyssk were also hit. In a Telegram post, Kim expressed anguish: '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.' Wildberries has not officially commented on the attacks.
Economic Impact
Wildberries, often called 'Russia's answer to Amazon,' started as a clothing retailer and expanded into a marketplace for third-party vendors. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted that sales on digital platforms like Wildberries account for roughly 8.5% of Russia's GDP. The strikes on this key retailer present a significant threat to Russia's economy. This attack follows a separate strike on Saturday that killed eight Wildberries workers.
Additional Strikes and Military Changes
Blackouts were reported across occupied Crimea after Ukrainian drones hit two electric substations in Masandra and Yalta. Meanwhile, Ukraine's military leadership is undergoing changes. President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked the head of his armed forces, and demonstrations have erupted after defence minister Mykhailo Federov was fired last week. In a post on Wednesday, Zelensky announced that Major General Ihor Skybiuk will become the new Chief of the General Staff, stating, 'He is a highly experienced officer who defended Ukraine shoulder to shoulder with the new Commander-in-Chief.'
