Ukraine continued its long-range strike campaign against Russia overnight, striking the country’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, and setting fire to one of the company’s largest logistics centers in the Vladimir region.
The strikes, which occurred overnight into Monday, August 3, came only a day after Ukrainian drones hit a different Wildberries logistics hub in Russia’s Samara region.
Putin In March 2016 Image Credit Russian Federation
Putin Back in 2016. Image Credit Creative Commons
Russian authorities said that more than 200 firefighters and dozens of emergency vehicles were deployed to combat the fire, which covered roughly 100,000 square meters.
Wildberries also issued a statement confirming that employees had been evacuated and that operations had been moved to other facilities. Three people suffered minor injuries, per regional authorities.
The attack came as part of Ukraine’s ongoing campaign, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described as one of “long-range sanctions.” Kyiv continues to raise the cost for Moscow to sustain the war, moving on from targeting largely energy infrastructure to logistics infrastructure that serves dual-use military and civilian purposes.
Wildberries strikes continue to place severe economic strain on Russia, disrupting business operations for hundreds of thousands of merchants.
Fire Engulfs Logistics Center
Wildberries confirmed on Monday that a fire broke out at its logistics complex in Russia’s Vladimir region following the overnight strikes, saying that employees were safely evacuated and operations moved to different warehouses, with operations redistributed across the rest of its network.
Vladimir Governor Alexander Avdeyev said 203 firefighters and 67 pieces of equipment had been deployed to contain the blaze.
In a separate statement published later on August 3, Wildberries founder and Chief Executive Tatyana Kim described the repeated attacks on the company’s infrastructure as acts of “terrorism” and said that businesses operating through the platform in 10 countries have suffered losses since the Ukrainian campaign began in mid-July.
Why Ukraine Is Doing It
Ukraine argues that the Wildberries strikes are directed at military logistics, not civilian retail infrastructure, although the impact on the latter also serves to raise the cost of the war for the Kremlin.
Kyiv has described Wildberries logistics facilities and warehouses as a critical part of Russia’s supply chain for equipment used by its armed forces.
As Ukraine began launching regular strikes on Wildberries facilities, President Zelenskyy provided more details on the type of hardware the company is accused of moving.
Speaking to Ukrainians during his nightly address on July 18, Zelenskyy announced strikes on two “significant logistics facilities” in the Tambov and Moscow regions, claiming that they were “used by the aggressor to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment.”
Zelenskyy has also repeatedly described the strikes as being part of an ongoing strategy of imposing “long-range sanctions” against Russia, whereby domestically developed drones and missiles are used to impose economic costs on Russia while also degrading the infrastructure that supports its military operations.
The Kremlin Says Otherwise
The Kremlin, however, denies Ukraine’s accusations and insists that the Wildberries online marketplace is a strictly civilian commercial operation and that it does not provide any Russian military equipment.
Speaking in a press conference on July 21, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was “not true” that components used for drones and navigation systems were moving through the Wildberries logistics network.
Wildberries also denies the claims, although reports last week revealed that Wildberries had removed the “Everything for the SMO” [special military operation] product tag from its website, meaning that products can no longer be sold as related to or in support of the war in Ukraine.
Strike Extends Beyond Wildberries
The overnight strikes into August 3 also extended beyond Wildberries, with reports describing one of the largest Ukrainian drone assaults in weeks.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that air defenses had destroyed or intercepted 131 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Rostov, Krasnodar, and occupied Crimea.
Explosions were reported throughout the Crimean peninsula overnight, with reports describing how residents and local Telegram channels shared details of blasts near Kerch.
Traffic was also temporarily suspended across the Crimean Bridge over fears that strikes could extend to transport infrastructure.
Russian-installed Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov also said three people were killed in the strikes and two were injured, though he did not specify the exact targets that had been struck.
Ukraine also claimed successes striking Russian energy infrastructure, with drone forces commander Robert Brovdi stating that Ukrainian drone units struck four Russian oil refineries and the Taman marine terminal over the last four days.
He reported that 12 fuel storage tanks that supported Russia’s military logistics network had been destroyed.
The attacks also occurred as Russia continued to push back, launching its own aerial campaign against Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces launched 181 attack drones at targets throughout Ukraine overnight.
Reports described how Russian planes dropped eight glide bombs in a span of 90 minutes in residential parts of the city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in the death of one person and leaving dozens injured.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
