Russian online retail warehouses hit by deadly Ukrainian strikes

Eight people have been killed and 62 injured after Ukrainian drones struck two warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, according to Russian officials. Seven deaths and 25 injuries occurred at a warehouse in the city of Tambov, roughly 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow. One death and 37 injuries occurred at another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal in the Moscow region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks had struck "major logistics facilities" which had been used to "supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment". He added that Ukraine had also struck targets in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, and Russian-annexed Crimea.Unverified images from the scene of one of the warehouse strikes showed flames and huge plumes of black smoke rising from a vast logistics building, with dozens of workers running into a car park area. The attacks appear to have started at night, with some videos showing terrified and injured staff attempting to flee as explosions continue. Another clip appears to show the walls of a warehouse disintegrating as they are engulfed by flames. Zelensky said Ukraine's operations were in response to "Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities". Overnight into Wednesday, 14 people were killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine.Wildberries is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. The merged RWB group, which combines Wildberries with advertising company Russ, was valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) by Forbes Russia in 2026.