Fallen debris sparks fire at Russia’s Wildberries logistics center after Ukrainian drone attack

Kanyshai Butun

A fire broke out at a Wildberries logistics center in Russia’s Yekaterinburg on Friday after debris from a Ukrainian drone attack struck the facility, local authorities said.

Sverdlovsk Regional Gov. Denis Pasler said on Telegram that Russian air defenses destroyed eight drones over the region, with three crashing onto the roof of the logistics center.

“People have been evacuated; there are no injuries,” he said.

Wildberries said on Telegram that firefighters were responding to the blaze, which it said was caused by the attack.

“The facility was evacuated beforehand,” the company said. “Current deliveries are temporarily restricted and rerouted to other facilities.”

Separately, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 203 Ukrainian drones across the federation, annexed Crimea and over the Black Sea.

The ministry also claimed it carried out overnight strikes on naval vessels used by the Ukrainian military and hit three dry cargo ships transporting military cargo in the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, accused Moscow of launching 147 drones at Ukraine, saying 114 were suppressed in the north, south and east of the country.

Independent verification of the claims from both sides remains difficult due to the ongoing war.

Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on logistics facilities operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, in a campaign that began in mid-July and has spread across several Russian regions.

Since July 18, Ukrainian drones have targeted more than 15 Wildberries logistics centers in Russia, including facilities in the Moscow, Tambov, Leningrad, Krasnodar, Volgograd and Stavropol regions, 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.