Ukrainian forces reportedly target Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, over 1,600 kilometers from border

Ukrainian forces reportedly targeted a Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, a Russian e-commerce giant, on August 31, nearly 1,600 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border, according to monitoring Telegram channels. Local authorities declared a drone threat in Russia's Sverdlovsk Oblast, where Yekaterinburg is located, around 9 a.m. local time.

Governor Denis Pasler confirmed the strike occurred near a logistics center but did not specify the company that owned the facility. Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ stated that the target was a Wildberries facility, and debris fell on residential areas, damaging three apartment buildings and injuring four people. No fires broke out at the damaged sites, and the majority of the damage was from shattered windows.

This is not the first time Ukraine has targeted logistics hubs in Russia; they launched a large-scale campaign this summer against such hubs in Russia and Russian-occupied territories, often used to store dual-use goods for weapons production and other military purposes. Ukraine has previously attacked a Wildberries facility in Belgorod on August 30, and an Ozon facility in Rostov Oblast the day before.

Ozon and Wildberries are Russia's two largest online marketplaces, serving millions of consumers and supporting more than 4 million jobs, accounting for about 8.5% of Russia's GDP, according to Reuters.