Russia burning as Ukraine launches massive attack on Putin’s ‘Amazon’ | World | News
The warehouse is suspected to have been hit by Ukrainian drones (Image: EAST2WEST)
A massive drone strike reportedly launched by Ukraine has left another warehouse owned by Wildberries, often dubbed Russia’s Amazon, on fire. The overnight attack is also said to have hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Ryazan region.
Local officials have confirmed a “massive” drone assault and residents have reported multiple explosions and large fires across the city. The reported strike is the latest in what appears to be a sustained Ukrainian campaign targeting the Russian e-commerce giant, which has seen several of its warehouse facilities hit over the past week. Ryazan regional governor Pavel Malkov said the city came under a “massive” drone attack in the early hours of Wednesday. He said: “Ryazan is experiencing a massive drone attack, and air defense systems are engaged. A fire has broken out on the territory of one of the enterprises.” Emergency services were sent to the scene and Mr Malkov later said there had been “fires in industrial areas”.
Thick black smoke after the drone assault on Wildberries (Image: east2west)
He added that six people had been taken to hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The governor did not specify which sites had been hit.
However, local residents reported hearing a series of explosions before posting photos and videos online appearing to show fires at multiple locations.
Residents claimed the Ryazan Oil Refinery and a Wildberries warehouse complex were both struck, although those reports have not been independently verified.
The Ryazan Oil Refinery is one of Russia‘s largest oil processing facilities. Owned by Rosneft, it produces more than 17.1 million tonnes of oil each year and accounts for around five per cent of the country’s total refining output.
The refinery has repeatedly been targeted by Ukrainian strikes. A reported attack in May temporarily halted operations at the site, contributing to fuel supply disruption as Ukraine intensified attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Since the beginning of July, Ukraine has also shifted its focus towards Wildberries warehouses, which process millions of goods every day.
The logo of Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries (Image: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the Kyiv Independent, the platform sells a range of dual-use products that can be used on the battlefield, including bulletproof vests and fibre-optic cable for drones.
Following previous strikes this month, Wildberries reportedly removed such products from search results for the terms “everything for the SVO” and “SVO” – the Russian abbreviation for “special military operation”, the Kremlin’s official term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The company is a dominant force in Russia’s consumer economy, accounting for almost half of the country’s online retail market.
It has also launched an advertising campaign urging Russians to support sellers affected by the recent warehouse attacks, with billboards reportedly appearing in occupied Crimea.
Following Wednesday’s reported strike, Wildberries announced on its website that access to its Ryazan warehouse had been “temporarily restricted”. The company said: “We will provide further information when operations are restored.”
The reported attack comes as Ukraine continues its long-range drone campaign targeting military, industrial and energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory.
