Conflict & Security
Zelensky says Ukrainian strikes hit warehouses supplying Russian army
Zelensky said Ukrainian strikes hit warehouses supplying the Russian army.
An earlier published report said Ukrainian drones struck warehouses used by Russian e-commerce company Wildberries on Friday, including logistics sites in Saint Petersburg and Simferopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea. That report said the attack caused a fire near Saint Petersburg, where grey smoke rose over residential high-rise buildings.
The new statement adds Zelensky's claim about the purpose of the warehouses but does not give further details in the supplied text.
Update
Zelensky said Ukrainian strikes hit warehouses supplying the Russian army.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 July 2026 at 08:24:17 UTC.
Update
Wildberries said two of its logistics facilities in Saint Petersburg and one in Simferopol, in annexed Crimea, were hit.
Wildberries CEO Tatyana Kim said evacuations were carried out at all the warehouses and that preliminary information showed no casualties at the warehouses.
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said three people were wounded and at least 59 drones were fired toward Saint Petersburg.
Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo airport temporarily suspended flights and about 50 departures were disrupted.
The source says eight night-shift workers were killed last weekend in attacks on Wildberries sites, including one main warehouse outside Moscow that burned down.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 July 2026 at 07:58:55 UTC.
Update
Russia's defence ministry said its forces shot down about 571 drones overnight over more than a dozen regions and Crimea.
Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo airport suspended flights during the attack and resumed operations around 06:00 local time, with about 50 departures disrupted.
Wildberries said two of its warehouses in the city had temporarily halted operations.
The source says this was the third overnight Ukrainian attack on Wildberries sites in the past week.
The source says eight night-shift workers were killed last weekend in attacks on Wildberries sites, including one that burned down a main warehouse outside Moscow.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 July 2026 at 06:14:34 UTC.
Update
Local officials identified the burning site as a Wildberries warehouse, linked to Russia's largest online retailer.
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said three people were wounded.
Drozdenko said 59 Ukrainian drones had been shot down.
Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo airport suspended flights during the attack and resumed operations around 06:00 local time, with around 50 departures disrupted.
Wildberries said two warehouses in the city had temporarily halted operations.
The report says this was the third overnight Ukrainian attack on Wildberries sites in the past week.
A Wildberries logistics hub outside Moscow was hit the previous weekend, killing eight night-shift workers and burning the facility to the ground.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged after the first attack that the facilities were used to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 July 2026 at 04:36:16 UTC.
Update
Governor Alexander Beglov said Saint Petersburg was attacked by military-purpose unmanned aerial vehicles and that civilian infrastructure facilities were hit.
An AFP reporter saw grey smoke rising over high-rise buildings in Saint Petersburg.
Local media reported that the targeted warehouses belonged to Wildberries.
Wildberries said two of its warehouses in the city had temporarily halted operations, without giving more details.
The source adds context that Ukrainian strikes have hit several Wildberries sites in the past week, including sites serving Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Wildberries stores and ships components for sanctioned military equipment.
Kyiv describes its long-range strike campaign as "long-range sanctions" and says it is justified retaliation for Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 July 2026 at 03:31:33 UTC.
Update
Local media and images on social media indicated smoke over Saint Petersburg after the reported warehouse fire.
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said earlier that at least 50 Ukrainian drones had targeted the city.
Wildberries said two warehouses in the city had halted operations, without giving a reason.
The source said Wildberries sites had been targeted heavily over the past two weeks.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 July 2026 at 02:52:40 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The brief source item does not identify the warehouse locations or give details of the strikes.
The match to the existing Wildberries warehouse strike story is probable but not fully confirmed by the brief source text.
Zelensky's statement that the warehouses supplied the Russian army is reported as his claim.
Source
AFP news report published on .