After the Russians unleashed more deadly airstrikes, targeting Ukrainian civilians, killing at least 11 and wounding dozens, Ukraine responded by attacking warehouses belonging to Russian online retail giant Wildberries outside Saint Petersburg.
Wildberries is the Russian equivalent to Amazon.com; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the attack on the Wildberries facility in the Saint Petersburg area, claiming it provided components used in the production of drones and other military equipment.
Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.
Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Tatyana Kim, the founder and owner of Wildberries and Russia’s wealthiest woman, with an estimated worth of $8.1 billion, said the latest attacks had targeted its warehouses in Saint Petersburg, in the surrounding Leningrad region and in Simferopol, in the Russian-annexed Crimea.
“We managed to save some of the premises and goods. I would like to thank our staff, our heroes – a swift evacuation was carried out at all warehouses,” Kim said in a statement. “According to preliminary reports, there were no casualties.”
“All of our efforts are now focused on redistributing goods across our warehouses to ensure more efficient stock turnover and the economic stability of our partners,” she added.
Wildberries Differs From Amazon, Selling Drones And Military Gear
Like its American counterpart, Wildberries has a vast online catalog of third-party vendors selling all sorts of apparel and home goods, accounts for roughly 52 percent of all online retail orders in Russia, and handles millions of daily orders.
However, Ukraine claims Wildberries sells dual-use goods that the military uses in the war, such as drones and individual kits used by Russian soldiers.
It has been the target of several attacks over the past week, with Ukrainian drones also targeting its facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions.
Wildberries’ banking division was sanctioned by the European Union this week over its financial contribution to the Russian budget, due to its playing a central role in Russia’s consumer economy.
What Is Ukraine’s Aim In Attacking Wildberries Warehouses?
Russian citizens, who were asking for, but denied compensation for their goods in Wildberries’ warehouses, are justifiably upset at the loss of their goods.
But they are also growing increasingly angry that Ukraine is targeting (on the surface) a civilian marketplace. And they want to know why.
The answer is complicated, but it begins with what Kyiv has already stated and is proven by Wildberries’ own large online website.
In a search for “drones,” the site offers a large selection of DJI Mavic 3 and Mavic 4 drones, which are widely used on the battlefield.
Many of the retailer’s quadcopters are listed as “first-person view” (FPV), which are the primary strike drones used by both sides in the war.
The individual kit or basic equipment used by Russian soldiers is also easily found.
Russia Targeted Civilians From The Outset, Now Must Deal With It
But Russian civilians have been widely insulated from the realities of this war.
The Kremlin’s censorship has hidden what Moscow has done since Day 1. Since Russia invaded Ukraine four and a half years ago, it has targeted Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The Kyiv Post wrote, “When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, it destroyed hundreds of civilian infrastructure sites across Ukraine, beginning with the Drama Theater and the maternity hospital in Mariupol, where hundreds of people were sheltering at the time.
“Over four years of war, Russia has struck every Ukrainian power plant – there is not a single one that has not been attacked – as well as several railway stations, the country’s largest children’s oncology hospital, not to mention logistics infrastructure.”
The Russians targeted Ukraine’s gas and oil industries; now they are facing the same kind of attacks that they’ve unleashed on Ukraine for four and a half years.
Ukraine is targeting logistics networks in an attempt to erode the sense of normality that has insulated many urban Russians from the realities of the war.
The Russians in the major cities now face mounting economic hardships caused by the war, which include soaring inflation, higher taxes and rising costs as the Kremlin scrambles to finance its military campaign.
They are now coming face-to-face with the situation that Putin brought upon them. And it isn’t pretty. Which is only a tiny fraction of what’s been transpiring in Ukraine.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications
