Ukraine bombs more ‘Russian Amazon’ hubs as huge infernos rage just hours after Putin calls ‘emergency’ meeting

UKRAINE has launched a fresh round of drone strikes on “Russian Amazon” warehouses – leaving the key logistics hubs up in flames. It comes hours after Vladimir Putin held an emergency meeting with top Kremlin cronies amid Ukraine‘s devastating endgame blitz campaign. Smoke rises from a Wildberries warehouse on fire in St Petersburg Credit: Reuters The St Petersburg complexes were left in flames Credit: East2West Kyiv hit two major logistics centres owned by Wildberries – Russia‘s biggest e-commerce platform – in St Petersburg overnight. The precise drone strikes left the online marketplace complexes ablaze in enormous infernos. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! A massive fire at another Wildberries facility was also ignited in Russian-occupied Crimea, with the towering flames even visible from space. Another hub was reportedly hit in Tver, leaving columns of thick black smoke billowing over the warehouse. A hub in Crimea was also blitzed Credit: East2West Smoke rises from two Wildberries hubs in St Petersburg Credit: Reuters It comes as Putin’s bungling air defence teams continue to struggle against intense Ukrainian long-range attacks. On the same night, Ukraine also used its state-of-the-art Flamingo missiles to strike the key Avitek defence plant in Kirov, deep inside Russia. The sanctioned company makes aviation equipment, guided anti-aircraft missiles and many types of military equipment used to kill and maim Ukrainians. It is unclear how many casualties there were, but dozens of ambulances were reported to be rushing to the blitzed manufacturing base. Most read in The Sun Putin held an emergency meeting in the Kremlin amid Ukrainian strikes Credit: Alamy Ukraine used Flamingo missiles to strike sanctioned missile-making defence plant Avitek Credit: East2West The strike came 12 hours after Putin held an “emergency” security council meeting. During the talks, he vowed to boost weapon production at plants – including Avitek – in another push to double down on his brutal invasion. The fresh strikes on St Petersburg, which hit the Shushary and Utkina Zavod neighbourhoods, sparked at least 50 flight delays. Dark plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Wildberries hubs – likely causing billions of pounds of damages. Ukraine’s Flamingo long-range cruise missiles were used overnight Credit: East2West A huge fire was seen raging in Crimea Credit: East2West The e-market platform – which handles 52 per cent of all Russian online orders – suspended operations at these two hubs. Staff were reportedly evacuated before the drones struck. Shocking footage also showed the Wildberries hub at Simferopol, Crimea, engulfed by fire following a Ukrainian strike. Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014 – and in recent weeks Ukraine has been trying to isolate it from mainland Russia with a series of targeted strikes. It has been crippled by the strategic siege which has sparked major fuel and food shortages. Summer tourists are boycotting the popular holiday hotspot due to the Ukrainian strikes. The logistics hub in Tver was also hit – meaning a total of nine Wildberries complexes have been damaged or destroyed in the last few days. The Wildberries crisis directly impacts Russian retailing and marks a huge blow to Putin. Thousands of small business suppliers have now lost their livelihoods and can expect only paltry compensation. Volodymyr Zelensky said Wildberries is targeted because it is being used to supply Russia’s military with navigation equipment, drone components and other war goods. Moscow said around 571 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian forces on July 24. It marked the highest total in one night throughout the entire war. Comment now