Ukrainian drone attacks kill ۳ as fire destroys Wildberries warehouse

Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov says Wildberries ‌logistics centre “completely ​destroyed by fire”.

Separate Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia have killed at least three people, while another attack triggered a massive blaze at a warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries in the Tambov region.

Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said on Wednesday that the ‌logistics centre was “completely destroyed by fire”. He said earlier that about ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ square metres (۱.۱ million square feet) of the facility were set ablaze, the equivalent of ۱۴ football pitches.

One person was injured in the strike, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He did not say if the fire had been extinguished.

The overnight strike targeted the Wildberries logistics centre in Kotovsk, about ۵۰۰ kilometres (۳۱۰ miles) southeast of Moscow.

Another industrial facility in the Nizhny Novgorod region was also damaged in a drone attack, according to the regional governor.

In the Lipetsk region, a man and a ۱۴-year-old were killed in a fire lit by a falling drone, while a woman was killed in a drone attack in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, the Reuters news agency quoted local authorities as saying on Telegram.

Ukraine has been hitting Wildberries facilities since mid-July, and it has also targeted the retailer’s main rival, Ozon, in recent days.

The two companies dominate one of the fastest-growing segments of the Russian economy, which is otherwise close to stagnation after four and a half years of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Ukraine has accused Wildberries of having a role in Russia’s military supply chain. Moscow and the company say its facilities are used for civilian purposes.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed ۴۲۶ Ukrainian drones during the night, including over Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly denied targeting civilians since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February ۲۰۲۲. But strikes on both sides of the front have intensified in recent months, causing a growing number of civilian casualties.