Conflict & Security
Drone strike near Saint Petersburg sets warehouse on fire
Ukrainian drones hit a warehouse near Saint Petersburg early Friday, causing a fire that sent smoke over the city, local officials and an AFP reporter reported.
An AFP reporter saw grey smoke rising into the morning sky above high-rise buildings. Alexander Beglov, the governor of Saint Petersburg, said on social media that the city had been attacked by military-purpose unmanned aerial vehicles and that the strike hit civilian infrastructure facilities. He said work to deal with the consequences was under way, but did not give more details.
Local media reported that the strikes targeted warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries. The company said two of its warehouses in the city had temporarily stopped operations, but did not explain further.
Kyiv has increased long-range drone strikes on Russian energy, military and logistics sites in recent weeks. Ukrainian strikes have hit several Wildberries sites in the past week, including sites serving Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the company stores and ships components for sanctioned military equipment.
Kyiv calls its campaign "long-range sanctions" and says the attacks are justified retaliation for Russia's nightly drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. The campaign has caused nationwide fuel shortages and, according to Kyiv, has weakened Russia's financial war resources.
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
Officials did not give full details of the facilities hit or the consequences of the strike.
The identification of the targeted warehouses as Wildberries sites was reported by local media.
Wildberries did not give details about why two warehouses temporarily halted operations.
Source
AFP news report published on .