Logistics centers belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, came under drone attack overnight in the southern cities of Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, triggering fires, injuring at least 15 people and disrupting operations, company founder Tatyana Kim said on Wednesday.
Kim said the company was working with emergency services to deal with the aftermath of the attacks.
According to authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region, a fire broke out at a Wildberries warehouse after drone debris fell on the logistics complex. Ten people were injured. Officials also reported that fragments of the drones struck two apartment buildings and two private homes. No fatalities were reported.
In Nevinnomyssk, in Russia’s Stavropol region, another Wildberries warehouse caught fire following the drone attack. Regional Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said five people sought medical assistance, while local authorities declared a localized state of emergency in the affected area.
Both logistics centers were evacuated during the attacks. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on terrorism charges, according to Russian authorities.
The latest strikes come just days after Wildberries suffered its deadliest attack to date. On July 18, Ukrainian drone strikes hit the company’s logistics hubs in Elektrostal near Moscow and Kotovsk in the Tambov region, killing at least eight workers and injuring dozens, while causing extensive fires and disrupting warehouse operations. Ukrainian officials said the facilities were being used to store or distribute components for military drones, a claim denied by the Kremlin, which maintains that Wildberries is a civilian e-commerce company.
