Ukraine has unleashed more apocalyptic strikes on ‘Russia’s Amazon’, leaving several injured and key logistical hubs ignited in flames.
The overnight attacks targeted warehouses in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk belonging to online retail giant Wildberries – and are likely to cost more than £1billion in damages, according to reports. Fifteen people have been injured in the latest strikes, the company’s founder and regional governors said.
It came just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky bowed to popular pressure and fired his Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, replacing him with modernising Maj-Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, 43.
The strikes are a further blow to Vladimir Putin’s already struggling economy as pressure mounts on the Kremlin to begin peace talks.
Two other Wildberries hubs were struck over the weekend, including in Elektrostal near Moscow, and in Tambov region, causing £1.5billion in damages. The Elektrostal centre was left in ruins.
Ukraine accuses the Kremlin-linked retail giant of supplying Putin’s military machine. Wildberries is owned by Putin-backing Tatyana Kim, 50, Russia’s richest woman with a £6.1billion fortune.
Kim said in a post on Telegram: “There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on us, who are simply doing our jobs.
“But these situations demonstrate the most important thing: we must continue to do what we do for the benefit of people.”
Ten people were injured in Krasnodar, including three in a serious condition, the region’s governor Veniamin Kondratyev said. Another five people were hurt at a warehouse complex on the outskirts of Nevinnomyssk, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on Telegram.
A firefighting helicopter was called in to tackle the massive blaze in Krasnodar, capital of a region of the same name which is home to three Putin palaces. Thick black smoke rose from the two warehouse complexes which are 148 miles apart.
The fires at the fourth and sixth largest Wildberries bases in Russia shows another failure for Putin’s air defences. The Krasnodar base was 1.65million square feet while in Nevinnomyssk site was 1.3million square feet.
One desperate supplier to the retail giant said: “Many will wake up bankrupt today.” A resident of Nevinnomyssk in Stavropol region pleaded: “Putin – end this war now.”
A major oil depot was also ablaze at Armavir in Krasnodar region after being attacked by a swarm of at least 16 Ukrainian drones. The attack – which killed one person – was aimed at causing further oil shortages in Russia where petrol and diesel queues are commonplace, stifling the Putin economy.
And occupied Crimea was hit by blackouts after the latest Ukrainian strikes on power plants in the Black Sea peninsula. The attacks came as Ukraine is gaining the upper hand in the war with Russia – and as Zelensky replaced the General who has led the turnaround.
“I am handing over to my successor an army that not only holds the defence but is also in a state of offensive – with initiative, structure, and people who know how to defeat the enemy,” said the fired Syrskyi in a farewell message.
After days of fevered speculation, he was replaced by the younger Drapatyi who is seen as more ready to embrace drone warfare and AI.
Syrskyi was nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ for his readiness to defend the frontlines without regard for human life. He bragged today that he had reclaimed 270 square miles of Ukrainian territory this year from the Russian invaders.
“I am not authorised to talk about some of the operations we carried out over these years, even today. History will tell about them,” he said.
Drapatyi has argued Ukraine can better defend itself by using the country’s new high-powered drones and missiles, developed during the war.
Zelensky was forced by public pressure to make the change and will now face rising demands to restore 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister. Fedorov lost his job last week after demanding Russian-born Syrskyi should be replaced.
Russia overnight struck a Nova Poshta logistics centre in Odesa, and the city’s port. The attacks on Russia’s Amazon are seen as revenge for Russia’s relentless strikes on multiple Nova Poshta bases. Five people including three children were injured in a Russian strike on Kyiv region.
