Fires Ravage Logistics Sites in Russia’s Orenburg and St. Petersburg

At around 2 a.m. on Sunday, two significant fires ignited at major logistics and industrial facilities in Russia. The first incident occurred in Orenburg, where a drone strike targeted the "Orenbuzhye" Special Economic Zone. Mayor Albert Yumadilov confirmed that multiple drones were shot down over the area, although falling debris sparked the blaze at the Ozon logistics complex. Officials swiftly extinguished the fire.

In response, Ozon management ordered the evacuation of over 300 employees from the site and suspended warehouse deliveries temporarily. The company temporarily hid goods from its marketplace storefront to prevent further damage. The Orenburg hub, a substantial investment for the company, opened in 2024 and was set to expand in early 2025, doubling its size to accommodate more goods and orders.

In St. Petersburg, a separate fire erupted at a "Logistera" warehouse in Kolpino, a suburb of the city. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry classified the incident as a level 4 complexity fire, with the affected area spanning 82,000 square meters. Local authorities in St. Petersburg did not immediately declare a drone or missile threat, but OSINT analysts from Astra Telegram noted the proximity of the burning warehouse to another Ozon facility.

These incidents follow a series of coordinated strikes on Russian logistics and military infrastructure the previous day. On August 22, drones targeted the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Samara, causing a fire at the Rosneft facility. Another strike hit a 75,000-square-meter Ozon fulfillment center in Samara. Additionally, a seaport in Yeysk, Russia, also faced drone strikes, with reports of visible smoke and potential vessel fires.

The escalation of strikes targeting Ozon facilities reflects a broader, month-long Ukrainian campaign against logistics infrastructure belonging to their main competitor, Wildberries. Since mid-July, at least 22 Wildberries warehouses have been targeted, resulting in the loss of approximately 43% of the company's storage capacity and an estimated $918 million in goods destroyed in a single strike on August 16.

Beyond commercial targets, Ukraine has continued striking Russian military aviation and drone infrastructure. President Zelensky announced the destruction of a Russian Su-24M aircraft and four pieces of aviation equipment at the Saky airfield in occupied Crimea, as well as the elimination of drone relay stations in Russia's Bryansk region.

Furthermore, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the destruction of a Russian "Niobi" radar station and 18 warehouse buildings housing UAVs at the Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield in Krasnodar region.