Ukraine launched overnight strikes on warehouses belonging to online retail giant Wildberries in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, leaving 15 people injured and key logistical hubs engulfed in flames. The attacks are expected to cost more than £1 billion in damages, according to reports.
Details of the Strikes
The strikes hit Wildberries sites in Krasnodar, where 10 people were injured including three in serious condition, as reported by regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev. Another five were hurt at a warehouse complex on the outskirts of Nevinnomyssk, according to Governor Vladimir Vladimirov on Telegram. The fires at the fourth and sixth largest Wildberries bases in Russia highlight further failures in Putin's air defenses.
Two other Wildberries hubs were struck over the weekend, including in Elektrostal near Moscow and in Tambov region, causing £1.5 billion in damages. The Elektrostal centre was left in ruins. Ukraine accuses the Kremlin-linked retail giant of supplying Putin's military machine. Wildberries is owned by Putin-backing Tatyana Kim, Russia's richest woman with a £6.1 billion fortune.
Impact and Reactions
Kim said in a Telegram post: "There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on us, who are simply doing our jobs. But these situations demonstrate the most important thing: we must continue to do what we do for the benefit of people." A desperate supplier to the retail giant said: "Many will wake up bankrupt today." A resident of Nevinnomyssk pleaded: "Putin - end this war now."
A major oil depot at Armavir in Krasnodar region was also ablaze after being attacked by at least 16 Ukrainian drones, killing one person. Occupied Crimea experienced blackouts after strikes on power plants. The attacks came as Ukraine gains the upper hand in the war, and as President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi with Maj-Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi.
Military Leadership Change
Syrskyi, nicknamed 'The Butcher' for his readiness to defend frontlines without regard for human life, said in a farewell message: "I am handing over to my successor an army that not only holds the defence but is also in a state of offensive – with initiative, structure, and people who know how to defeat the enemy." He claimed to have reclaimed 270 square miles of Ukrainian territory this year. Drapatyi, seen as more open to drone warfare and AI, has argued Ukraine can better defend itself using new high-powered drones and missiles.
Russia overnight struck a Nova Poshta logistics centre in Odesa and the city's port. Five people including three children were injured in a Russian strike on Kyiv region.
