Ukrainian strikes on facilities belonging to Russia's equivalent of Amazon have helped plunge the Kremlin's economy into meltdown, experts have warned. About 20 warehouses and buildings linked to Wildberries have been struck by Ukrainian forces across several Russian regions since mid-July.
Kyiv's defence ministry claims to have disabled seven of the online retailer's 10 largest logistics centres following an attack on a warehouse near Moscow overnight. Ukraine argues Wildberries' warehouses are being used to provide equipment to Russia's military, something the Kremlin denies.
Economic and Social Impact
Former British Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram said Ukraine's campaign is causing a "massive headache" for Vladimir Putin. Mr Ingram said the strikes — along with the targeting of oil and gas infrastructure — are having both an economic and social effect on Russia.
He told The Sun: "It is bringing the war home to the average Russian. The civilian population is now fearing the government can't protect them anymore. They can't protect their businesses due to the Wildberries attacks and the cost of living is going through the roof."
Psychological Warfare
Kremlin critic and British banker Bill Browder also told the newspaper: "These attacks on the Wildberries warehouses are a combination of economic, military and psychological war on the Russians." He agreed with Mr Ingram's comments, saying the campaign is "bringing the war home" to the Russian population.
Mr Browder also described it as "probably the most important thing" Ukraine is doing in the war, which is now in its fifth year. Wildberries is widely used by Russian businesses big and small for online retail.
Scale of the Attacks
Billions of dollars' worth of merchandise is believed to have been destroyed in Ukrainian strikes on the company. According to Russian authorities, the Ukrainian attack on the country overnight was "the largest scale" since the start of the year.
Moscow's defence ministry said 822 Ukrainian drones were shot down, with Moscow's mayor earlier reporting some 600 were detected flying towards the capital. Russian officials said at least six people were killed in what was one of Kyiv's largest aerial attacks of the conflict. Ukraine was also targeted by Russian forces overnight, with drone strikes destroying homes and torching Kyiv's landmark book market.
