By The Moscow Times | Created at 2026-08-07 08:45:21 | Updated at 2026-08-07 09:45:15
1 hour ago
A Ukrainian drone attack set fire to a logistics center belonging to online retailer Wildberries in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, regional officials and the company said Friday morning.
Acting Sverdlovsk region Governor Denis Pasler said air defense forces shot down eight drones over the region, three of which crashed onto the roof of the facility.
Wildberries confirmed that a fire broke out at the logistics center, located nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the Ukrainian border, but said that firefighters have since contained the blaze.
President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to the Urals Federal District, Artyom Zhoga, said 800 people had been evacuated from the facility. No injuries were reported.
Wildberries said most of the inventory at the Yekaterinburg logistics center remained undamaged. Inbound shipments were temporarily rerouted to other logistics hubs, the company added.
Videos shared on social media showed employees evacuating the facility as drones struck the roof, with gunfire audible in the background as local defense forces tried to shoot down the incoming aircraft.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 203 Ukrainian drones across Russia and annexed Crimea between Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The attack Friday was at least the second against a Wildberries facility in the Sverdlovsk region since Ukraine began its strike campaign against the company in mid-July. Kyiv accuses the online retailer of supplying the Russian military with drone parts and other equipment.
Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters shows that at least 1.18 million square meters (12.7 million square feet) of Wildberries storage space, representing more than 20% of the company’s total capacity, has been damaged or destroyed since the campaign began.
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