Video captures blasts as drones strike Wildberries sites in Russia’s Tver Oblast

Drones launched from an unknown source targeted logistics facilities in Russia’s Tver Oblast in the early hours of August 14, with video footage capturing the explosions, according to Astra. Local residents were heard reacting to the drones as they flew overhead in one video, while another captured by an outdoor surveillance camera at a logistics center showed a drone exploding upon impact.

Vitaly Korolyov, the acting governor of Tver Oblast, stated that falling debris from the drones caused damage to the exterior of a Wildberries facility situated in the Kalininsky district. The Wildberries logistics complex in the Kalininsky municipal district is located near the village of Pasynkovo within the Emmaus special economic zone, adjacent to the settlement of Emmaus outside Tver.

In a separate incident, an overnight assault ignited a fire at the port of Ust-Luga, located within Leningrad Oblast. The Novatek-Ust-Luga terminal might have sustained damage as a result of the attack, according to an OSINT analyst quoted by Astra. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on August 13 that satellite imagery revealed the fire had completely destroyed one-fifth of a Wildberries warehouse in Chishmy, Bashkortostan. The blaze burned through nearly 30,000 square meters of the structure.

Ukrainian drone strikes on Wildberries warehouses have become increasingly frequent, as reported by Reuters. At least 20 of the company’s logistics centers have been targeted by Ukrainian drones, resulting in the complete destruction of several facilities. The marketplace has suffered the loss of approximately 1.18 million square meters of warehouse space due to these attacks.

The disruptions caused by the attacks have significantly impacted Wildberries' operations and have negatively affected the Russian economy. Estimates suggest that Wildberries' turnover has declined by roughly 25% due to the loss of logistics capacity and seller departures as a consequence of the attacks.

Furthermore, Reuters revealed, through a source close to the Kremlin, that Russia may face a surge of bankruptcies among business owners who sold goods through the marketplace and lost inventory in the attacks on its logistics centers.