Ukraine Launches Systematic Drone Campaign Against Russia's Largest Online Marketplace

Ukraine has launched a sustained drone campaign targeting Wildberries, the largest online marketplace in Russia. Early Sunday, a large scale attack struck a warehouse in Podolsk, south of Moscow, causing a major fire. This follows a series of strikes in recent weeks, including attacks on warehouses in Tver and Salavat. More than 20 logistics hubs have been damaged or destroyed since mid July. At least nine employees have been confirmed dead and scores more were injured. The Moscow based consultancy Data Insight estimates that Wildberries has lost about a third of its warehouse space and up to 480 billion rubles in goods. Total damages to the company and its sellers could reach 800 billion rubles. Wildberries is often compared to Amazon and controls about half of the Russian e-commerce market. Together with its competitor Ozon, the two platforms handle goods and services equivalent to approximately 8.5 percent of Russia's gross domestic product. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials argue the warehouses are used to distribute military equipment, such as drone components and navigation systems. An analysis by the outlet Verska identified tens of thousands of military and dual use goods on the platform between May and August. The Kremlin has rejected these claims, maintaining the retailer serves only civilian purposes. Beyond military logistics, Ukrainian officials and analysts suggest the attacks aim to disrupt the Russian economy by targeting a societal choke point and affecting state owned creditors like Sberbank and VTB. The Russian Association of Electronic Trading Platforms reported that as many as 400,000 sellers have been affected by the campaign.