Ukraine Drone Strikes Kill Five and Hit Wildberries Warehouses Across Russia
Ukrainian Drone Attacks Target Russian Warehouses
MOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drones struck three warehouses across Russia overnight, including two run by online retailer Wildberries, killing five people, local officials said on Tuesday.
Wildberries Warehouses Under Attack
Wildberries, which has become a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks - part of what Kyiv says is a campaign to bring the war home to ordinary Russians - said its warehouse near St Petersburg had caught fire but that there were no casualties.
Incident in the Tver Region
In the Tver region, to the northwest of Moscow, another Wildberries facility was damaged by drones, Vitaly Korolyov, the acting regional governor said. Nobody was hurt in that attack.
Fatal Attack in the Moscow Region
But in the Moscow region, home to 22 million people, a drone attack on the city of Chekhov set an unnamed warehouse alight and killed five people, the governor, Andrei Vorobyov, said. A further 10 people were injured.
Impact on Wildberries and Russian Economy
Wildberries as a Strategic Target
Kyiv has sought to disrupt the operations of Wildberries, which is often described as Russia's answer to Amazon and is a linchpin of the consumer economy.
Response from Wildberries Leadership
The company's founder and CEO, Tatyana Kim, has called the Ukrainian attacks – which have targeted more than a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18 – "acts of terrorism".
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)
