Ukrainian strikes hit Wildberries logistics center in Russia's Tambov

Russian authorities said Wednesday that a fire broke out at a logistics center of the country’s largest online retailer Wildberries and an unnamed industrial facility has been damaged following overnight Ukrainian drone strikes.

Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said in a statement on Telegram that the town of Kotovsk, south of the region’s administrative center, was targeted in overnight attacks, claiming air defenses shot down 16 Ukrainian drones, Anadolu Agency reported.

“As a result of Ukrainian drone strikes, a fire broke out at the Wildberries logistics center. The fire covered over 100,000 square meters (1.07 million square feet),” the statement said, noting that employees were evacuated after receiving an air raid alert.

Based on preliminary information, one Wildberries employee suffered a concussion from the blast wave, the statement said, further noting that a house in a gardening community also caught fire after the crash of a Ukrainian drone.

Wildberries also confirmed the attack, saying in a press service statement that fire crews are on site and adding that the facility was not accepting new deliveries.

Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on Wildberries logistics facilities in a campaign that began in mid-July and has spread across several Russian regions.

Since July 18, Ukrainian drones have targeted Wildberries logistics centers in regions such as Moscow, Tambov, Leningrad, Krasnodar, Volgograd, and Stavropol, as well as in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Kyiv has accused the e-commerce retailer of playing a role in Moscow's military supply chain, while Moscow and Wildberries maintain that the facilities are purely civilian. Since last week, strikes have also targeted facilities belonging to online retailer Ozon.

Separately, Nizhny Novgorod Governor Gleb Nikitin said that an industrial facility, several residential buildings and cars were damaged due to an overnight attack in the region, which he claimed involved over 40 drones, while no casualties have been reported so far.

"Specialists are working at the site of the debris fall, and cleanup efforts are underway," he added, without providing details on the facility targeted.

The media outlet Astra reported, citing local residents, that an oil refinery in the town of Kstovo was attacked overnight, causing a fire. The town is home to Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez, one of Russia's largest refineries.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the country’s air defenses shot down 426 Ukrainian drones overnight across 15 regions, as well as in Crimea.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on either attack.

Stabil.Az