Drone Attacks Spark Large Fires at Wildberries Hubs Near Moscow

A large-scale fire broke out at a massive Wildberries logistics complex in the Moscow region early Sunday morning, Aug. 16, following a reported drone attack. Astra Telegram channel reported that the blaze engulfed the Wildberries facility in the village of Koledino, near Podolsk. Spanning over 200,000 square meters (77,200 square feet), the Koledino site is reportedly the largest warehouse operated by the e-commerce giant.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Astra also reported that a second facility, the Severnoye Domodedovo multimodal logistics complex in Domodedovo, was on fire concurrently. The fires follow a mass drone attack on the Russian capital region overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated on Telegram that Russian air defenses had intercepted 105 drones heading toward the city. He added that emergency services were working at the debris crash sites but did not provide details on damage or casualties. Local Telegram channels reported explosions and air defense activity in Domodedovo, Chekhov, Podolsk, and the Stupinsky district. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) announced that flight operations at Moscow’s Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports were temporarily suspended due to the attacks. This is not the first incident in the area; on July 28, a fire broke out at the nearby Koledino3Pl logistics complex following a drone strike. Strike on Galaktika shopping center in occupied Donetsk In a separate development, explosions were reported late Saturday evening, Aug. 15, in occupied Donetsk, with local residents reporting a drone attack. Other Topics of Interest World Archery Allows Russian Athletes to Compete Under National Flag The World Archery Federation has permitted Russian athletes to compete under their national flag and anthem, citing a recent IOC ruling. According to the Exilenova+ Telegram channel, drones struck the Galaktika shopping center in the city, sparking a large-scale fire. Russian occupation authorities have not yet issued an official statement regarding the consequences of the attack or potential casualties. Sustained campaign against Wildberries infrastructure The Sunday strikes on the Koledino and Domodedovo facilities follow a sustained Ukrainian campaign targeting Wildberries’ logistics and digital infrastructure. On Aug. 10-11, cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) attacked the company’s digital infrastructure. The HUR’s Cyber Corps reported that the operation caused large-scale disruptions, affecting the main customer service channel, destabilizing the payment infrastructure, and preventing users from completing financial transactions. The cyberattack compounds the damage caused by a series of drone strikes. Since mid-July, Ukraine has targeted at least 23 Wildberries facilities. Data Insight analysts estimate that prior to Sunday’s attacks, the company had already lost up to one-third of its warehouse space (at least 1.18 million square meters), with destroyed or damaged goods valued at approximately 480 billion rubles ($5.7 billion). The financial losses are roughly equivalent to the annual budgets of wealthier Russian regions like Krasnoyarsk Krai. The disruptions have significantly impacted the tens of thousands of businesses reliant on the platform, which accounts for approximately 10% of Russia’s retail sales. Kyiv has stated that Wildberries is a legitimate military target, asserting that the marketplace sells goods used by the Russian armed forces. While the company denies supplying the military, reports indicate that dual-use items such as first-person-view (FPV) drones and fiber-optic cables were available for purchase on the platform in early August. Tymur Dubovyk - journalist, newsfeed editor