UKRAINE has launched a fresh barrage of strikes on “Russia’s Amazon” – sparking massive infernos ripping through the retail giant’s warehouses.
Key logistics hubs run by e-commerce firm Wildberries were set ablaze leaving over £1billion in damages – and another setback for Vladimir Putin.
Stunning images showed Russian logistics hubs up in flames Credit: East2West
Strikes on a warehouse owned by Russia’s biggest e-commerce platform Wildberries in Krasnodar Credit: East2West
The attacks on Wildberries – a platform accused of propping up Putin’s war machine – mark another huge blow to Russia’s flailing economy.
Jaw-dropping images showed towering columns of black smoke rising into the skies while vicious fires tore through the retailer’s complexes.
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The assault is part of Ukraine’s endgame blitz – a series of deep strikes targeting energy and logistics hubs in Russia.
Kyiv hopes severe disruption to daily life will turn the Russian people against Putin and pressure the tyrant towards peace.
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Smoke rises from a Wildberries warehouse on fire after an attack in Nevinnomyssk Credit: Reuters
Massive plumes of smoke seen rising from the site of the Ukrainian blast Credit: East2West
Last night’s strikes hit critical hubs in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, both in Western Russia.
They came just days after two separate Wildberries hubs were struck, in Elektrostal near Moscow, and Tambov, causing £1.5billion in damages.
At least 10 people were wounded in the Krasnodar attack.
A firefighting helicopter was deployed to tackle the massive blaze in Krasnodar, capital of a region where three other Putin palaces are located.
The logistical hubs were struck by Ukrainian projectiles Credit: East2West
The huge strikes mark the latest blow to Putin’s war machine Credit: East2West
After the blitz on Nevinnomyssk, a state of emergency was declared in Stavropol region.
Thick black plumes of smoke could be seen rising from both warehouse complexes which are 148 miles apart.
Huge infernos could be seen tearing through the buildings – key cogs in Putin’s bloody invasion.
Wildberries is owned by Putin-backing Tatyana Kim, 50, Russia’s richest woman with a £6.1billion fortune.
It marks another blow to Putin’s war machine Credit: AP
Strikes pictured from last weekend on the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal, near Moscow Credit: East2West
The crippling fires, which were sparked at the fourth and sixth largest Wildberries bases in Russia, highlight Putin’s struggling air defences.
One desperate supplier to the retail giant said: “Many will wake up bankrupt today.”
A resident of Nevinnomyssk in Stavropol region pleaded: “Putin – end this war now.”
Additionally, a major oil depot was set ablaze at Armavir in Krasnodar after being attacked by a swarm of at least 16 Ukrainian drones.
At least one person died in the assault which was aimed at exacerbating Russia’s chronic oil shortages.
Meanwhile, Russian-occupied Crimea was hit by fresh blackouts after the another round of Ukrainian strikes on power plants.
The Black Sea peninsula that Putin annexed in 2014 has been subject to a drone and missile campaign aimed at isolating the territory from Russia’s mainland.
The attacks come as Ukraine continues to shift the momentum of the war in its favour.
And they also came hours after Volodymyr Zelensky fired his Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60.
He has been replaced by Maj-Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, 43 – a younger figure seen as more willing to embrace modernisation of the army, including drones and AI.
Syrskyi was nicknamed “The Butcher” for his readiness to defend the frontlines leading to human losses.
He said on Wednesday he had reclaimed 270 square miles of Ukrainian territory this year from the Russian invaders.
Drapatyi has argued that Ukraine can better defend itself with a more concentrated use of the country’s new high-powered drones and missiles.
It comes as Putin continues to launch strikes on Ukrainian civilians.
Russia struck a Nova Poshta – a major delivery service – logistics centre in Odesa, and the city’s port overnight.
Five people including three children were also injured in a Russian strike on the Kyiv region.
