Ukraine Strikes Wildberries Hubs Near Moscow, St. Petersburg in Fresh Drone Wave

Ukraine launched another wave of long-range drone strikes early Tuesday, hitting two of Russia’s largest Wildberries logistics hubs near Moscow and St. Petersburg as Kyiv presses its campaign against the country’s supply network. In the Moscow region, drones struck the town of Chekhov, setting a warehouse ablaze in the Novoselki industrial zone.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said the strike sparked several fires, damaged an electrical substation and an administrative building, and killed five people while injuring six others. Kyiv has not commented on the reported casualties. Eyewitness footage analyzed by Russian outlet Astra indicates the destroyed warehouse belonged to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. Hundreds of kilometers to the north, another strike hit the Leningrad region near St. Petersburg. Governor Alexander Drozdenko said Russian air defenses downed 17 drones but confirmed damage to a warehouse complex in Krasny Bor, where one person was injured. Russian outlet Bumaga, citing Wildberries employees and eyewitness videos, reported the attack hit the company’s newest and largest logistics hub in the Leningrad region – a 154,000-square-meter (1.66 million-square-foot) distribution center that erupted in flames after the strike. The latest attacks come less than two weeks after Ukrainian drones hit two other Wildberries sorting centers in the Leningrad region. Other Topics of Interest Russia Jails Ukrainian for 24 Years in Case Rights Groups Call Politically Motivated Yan Haupt was sentenced to 24 years over an alleged terror plot in Krasnodar, in a case rights groups call politically motivated. The strikes are part of what appears to be a deliberate Ukrainian effort to disrupt Russia’s logistics infrastructure. Since July 18, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly targeted Wildberries warehouses across Russia. According to Data Insight, cited by The Moscow Times, strikes had reached between 1.21 million and 1.47 million square meters (13-15.8 million square feet) of warehouse space by Aug. 2, damaging up to 22% of the company’s publicly declared logistics network. Russian outlet Verstka put the figure even higher, estimating that more than 1.5 million square meters (16.1 million square feet) – roughly 27% of Wildberries’ warehouse capacity – has been damaged. At least 20 Wildberries facilities have reportedly been hit, including warehouses in Elektrostal, Krasnodar, Nevinnomyssk, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, and St. Petersburg. The company’s biggest loss remains its massive 250,000-square-meter (2.69 million-square-foot) logistics hub in Elektrostal outside Moscow, which was completely destroyed in an earlier Ukrainian strike. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.