Russian e-retailer Ozon says Ukrainian drone alert forces it to evacuate Tatarstan warehouse
Ozon Warehouse Evacuation and Impact on Russian E-Commerce
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.
Video Evidence and Social Media Reports
A video verified by Reuters showed a plume of white smoke rising next to a blue-coloured Ozon warehouse. Another unverified video posted on social media showed warehouse workers hurrying out of an Ozon warehouse and watching as a drone crashed into the ground some distance away with a loud explosion.
Ukrainian Drone Attacks on Russian E-Commerce Infrastructure
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 warned on Thursday of potential risks to its own infrastructure, and some analysts suggested it was just a matter of time before Ukraine began targeting Ozon warehouses too.
Ozon and Wildberries warehouses are located next to each other in many locations - including Zelenodolsk - and it was not clear on Friday which of the warehouses Ukraine was targeting.
Statements from Ukrainian Officials
Ukrainian drone forces commander Robert Brovdi posted a cryptic message on Telegram on Friday however, which looked like a reference to Ozon in which he said that "the ozone concentration exceeds the critical norm."
EU Sanctions and Financial Implications
Targeting Wildberries and Economic Impact
EU SANCTIONS
Ukraine's targeting of Wildberries facilities appears to be part of Kyiv's attempts to ensure ordinary Russians feel the impact of the war which has raged on Ukrainian territory for more than four years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also described the Wildberries targets as logistics hubs involved in supplying Russian forces with drone components and other equipment. The Kremlin has denied that Wildberries handles military supplies.
Wildberries' Financial Ties and Stability Concerns
An executive at a leading Ukrainian arms producer said this week that Wildberries was being targeted because of its prominent status as a major borrower from Russian banks, so attacks could potentially impact Russia's financial stability.
Sanctions on Ozon and Wildberries
The European Union imposed sanctions on Ozon and Wildberries' financial units on July 24. Ozon said its unit does not operate outside Russia and does not have any overseas assets.
Ozon's Ownership and International Investors
Moscow-listed Ozon does not disclose the names of its foreign investors. Russian private equity fund AFK Sistema, which has assets in telecoms, agriculture and healthcare, is known to own about a third of its shares.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said that it owned shares in Ozon as of December 2025.
Before the war in Ukraine, the company, which grew from an online bookstore, counted some of the world's leading international funds, including BlackRock, among its investors and had its depositary receipts listed on Nasdaq until 2023.
BlackRock said in 2023 that it did not hold any Ozon shares.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Susan Fenton)
