Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russia’s largest online retailer have reduced massive warehouses — from the outskirts of Moscow to the Black Sea — to rubble, new satellite imagery shows.
The imagery, captured in early August by US spatial intelligence firm Vantor and obtained by Business Insider, shows four Wildberries facilities across Russia that have been either heavily damaged or completely destroyed by recent Ukrainian attacks targeting the e-commerce giant.
Wildberries, which launched in 2024, is often described as Russia’s version of Amazon, where merchants can list goods for sale online.
Kyiv began attacking Wildberries warehouses last month to further strain the Russian economy, and has accused the company of supporting Moscow’s war efforts by selling both military and dual-use goods, such as tactical vests and drone flight-control goggles, and through logistics.
“Russian logistics, dismantled one hub at a time,” the Ukrainian defense ministry said Tuesday after a strike. The Kremlin has denied that the company is involved in its war efforts.
Ukraine has used long-range drones to attack roughly 20 Wildberries facilities since mid-July, often triggering fires and sending enormous plumes of smoke into the skies. At least a dozen people have reportedly been killed.
Ukrainian defense company Fire Point has said that its FP-1 drones are being used in the attacks. These fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft can travel hundreds of miles across the border into Russia before crashing into their targets and detonating on impact.
Earlier this week, Fire Point said that its FP-1 drones were used to hit a Wildberries logistics hub in Krasny Bor, near St. Petersburg, describing it as “one of the company’s largest facilities” in northwestern Russia that could hold more than 57 million units at a time, including dual-use goods for the military.
“It was there. Now it’s not,” Fire Point said on Tuesday.
Wildberries was estimated to have lost roughly 10% of its warehouse space due to the July attacks, and the August strikes have continued to disrupt its logistics network. Two attacks alone are estimated to have cost merchants at least $1.8 billion in merchandise, according to Forbes Russia, underscoring the strain.
Ukraine’s campaign targeting Wildberries’ logistics hubs is playing out alongside its attacks on Russian energy facilities.
Energy attacks have long been the centerpiece of the Ukrainian deep-strike campaign, which officials in Kyiv often describe as a way of enforcing “long-range” sanctions against Russia.
Overnight on Wednesday, Ukrainian forces launched an attack on the Yaroslavl oil refinery, one of the largest in northern Russia. The facility has an annual crude oil refining capacity of roughly 15 million tons, Kyiv’s military said.
The Unmanned Systems Forces, which carried out the strike operation, said it continues to “systematically reduce” Russia’s ability to supply fuel to its military.
Meanwhile, Russia has been ramping up its bombardments of Ukraine as Kyiv grapples with crucial interceptor shortages, leaving its air defenders effectively unable to defeat ballistic missile strikes.
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