Ozon Evacuates Tatarstan Warehouse Following Ukrainian Drone Alert
Ozon Responds to Ukrainian Drone Threat in Tatarstan
Evacuation Details and Immediate Aftermath
MOSCOW, July 31 (Reuters) - Russia's second-largest e-commerce company, Ozon, said on Friday that it had been forced to evacuate its warehouse in the town of Zelenodolsk in the Tatarstan region due to a Ukrainian drone alert.
The evacuation took just a few minutes to complete and there were no casualties. The logistics centre was undamaged and has since resumed operations, the company said.
Context: Previous Attacks on Russian E-Commerce Warehouses
Wildberries Warehouses Targeted
Ukraine has attacked at least a dozen warehouses belonging to Ozon's main rival, Wildberries, since July 18 in a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a linchpin in Russia's consumer economy.
Ozon's Risk Assessment and Analyst Predictions
Ozon warned on July 30 of potential risks to its own infrastructure from drone attacks, and some analysts suggested it was a matter of time before Ukraine started targeting Ozon warehouses too.
Warehouse Locations and Uncertainty of Targets
Ozon and Wildberries warehouses are located next to each other in many locations - like in Zelenodolsk - and it was not clear on Friday which of the warehouses Ukraine was targeting.
Ukrainian Response and Statements
Ukrainian drone forces commander Robert Brovdi posted a cryptic message on Telegram on Friday however, which looked like a reference to the e-retailer in which he said that "the ozone concentration exceeds the critical norm."
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
