AFTER weeks of blitzing Vladimir Putin’s oil depots with state-of-the-art drones, Ukraine has now shifted its crosshairs to Russia’s Amazon.
In another bid to bring the tyrant to the negotiating table, Kyiv is putting its foot on Moscow’s neck with a series of strikes crippling the regime’s biggest e-commerce platform.
Russia has faced a series of strikes on warehouses in Moscow and St Petersburg (pictured) Credit: AP
Putin could face poor election results in September Credit: Getty
The despot could be staring down the barrel of a mutiny by the time key elections come round in September if Ukraine keeps its foot on the gas and Moscow continues to struggle against aerial assaults, experts say.
The devastating strikes on warehouses owned by Wildberries – the country’s biggest online marketplace – have shattered Russian morale.
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Over the last few days, Ukraine has destroyed or damaged a series of complexes belonging to the biggest e-commerce platform in Russia.
And the drone onslaught has thrown Russian daily life into chaos – wiping out local businesses overnight and suffocating small-scale trade.
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Russia expert Mark Galeotti told The Jattvibe: “The Ukrainians have been extraordinarily and unexpectedly successful, and this is slowly grinding away… at support for the regime bit by bit.”
And John Foreman CBE, former UK Defence Attaché to Russia, said: “The strategy… is to inflict pain inside Russia, inside the occupied territories, inside Crimea, to bring home the cost of war back to Russians.”
Russia analyst Natia Seskuria told us: “It’s a very smart strategy from the Ukrainian side… it will have a significant impact on Russian households.”
She added: “This is something new and something that we haven’t seen before, but I think the message is still the same in terms of making the war extremely costly for Russia.”
Wildberries warehouses have been pummelled Credit: East2West
Locals have mocked Putin for the devastating strikes Credit: East2West
Shocking images have shown plumes of smoke billowing over several complexes across the country with several of them decimated by flames.
Dubbed Russia’s Amazon, the online marketplace has been accused by Kyiv of housing military and drone equipment that is often sent to the frontline.
On Wildberries – which is owned by Russia’s richest woman Tatiana Kim and accounts for 52 per cent of the country’s online orders – customers can purchase radios, combat gear, and body armour.
Meanwhile, electronic chips being stored there can also be used for drones and missiles.
Plumes of smoke rising over a logistics hub on July 24 Credit: Reuters
Warehouses have been left in flames Credit: East2West
Seskuria called the firm “one of the driving forces behind the Russian economy” that employs some 4 million people.
Ukraine has argued they are targeting the logistics hubs in an attempt to disrupt supplies to the Russian army.
But they are also trying to frustrate millions of Russians who rely on the retailer everyday.
Galeotti said: “It’s essentially part of the wider campaign to really bring the war home to ordinary Russians and essentially make their lives harder.”
He added: “Frankly all across the country this did seem to be a war that was happening a long way away – and obviously things will change now.”
The attacks are “making people feel that the war is much more real and present for them”, he added.
Foreman agreed, saying it the move has brought the cost of war back to Russians.
Describing the online retailer, he told us: “You can buy body armour on there, you can buy electronics, can buy navigating, national creation equipment… so I think it’s a legitimate target.”
Remains of the Wildberries warehouse that burned down after a recent Ukrainian drone attack Credit: Reuters
Devastating Ukrainian drone strikes destroyed a vast logistical Wildberries hub in Krasnodar Credit: East2West
Seskuria said: “The feeling of insecurity is on the rise within Russia because there is a consistency when it comes to Ukraine’s attacks.”
She also warned of the potential uproar Putin may face down the line if Ukraine keeps up its strategy.
“Some Russians through their social media… are blaming the local governments for not being able to prepare the citizens to for these kind of attacks,” she said.
“This is something quite unusual for Russians, and that’s why I think Ukraine’s strategy has had so much impact because it shifts the narrative within Russia.”
A satellite view shows smoke rising from a Wildberries facility, in Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol region, July 22 Credit: Reuters
Wildberries is owned by Kremlin-connected Tatyana Kim, 50, Russia’s richest woman Credit: East2West
Furious locals hitting out at the Wildberries strikes have claimed losing their livelihoods.
One woman went viral in a Putin-bashing post on Telegram, saying: “I am a mother of a disabled child, I’ve built the business myself…
“I’ve lost 1 million roubles (£9,500)… We’re already getting screwed over from every direction as it is.”
Another cried: “When will this f**k all end?
“Today at four in the morning my heart just broke. Everything I had built up piece by piece for two years just burned down.”
The significant dissent could push Putin closer to the negotiating table as he heads towards elections this year.
In September, Russians will go to the polls for legislative election – voting on who gets a seat in parliament.
But Putin’s ruling United Russia could face a crisis if living standards continue to spiral.
Galeotti said although the result will be “whatever the presidential political swing spin doctors want to announce”, it could still show, in some ways, how the population is feeling.
If the Kremlin is forced to tamper with the results too much, it might not be seen as a strong legitimate win.
“The more you rig it, the less convincing it is, but also, the more chance it does generate protests… So you know, there is clearly caution,” the expert warned.
Foreman said September would be a “time of risk for the regime because it allows a form of dissent to be expressed about the conduct of the war”.
And although the elections will be “largely symbolic”, Putin will still be trying to clamp down on public opinion to avoid future rebellion, Seskuria said.
“If the state of economy continues to deteriorate and at the same time the dissatisfaction among the population rises, this may lead Putin to think about the options,” she noted.
“And I think when it comes to the options, there aren’t many choices that he has.”
Although the attacks may not spark a full-blown revolt among the Russian population, experts emphasised that the latest campaign was having a undeniable impact.
Galeotti said: “None of this is without cost… I don’t want to downplay it.
“All of this has costs for ordinary Russians and also for big Russian business and the Russian state.”
Foreman said the strikes were a genius move as Wildberries represents a sizeable chunk of Russia’s economy
“The e-commerce sector in Russia is massive… it represents maybe eight and half to nine percent of Russian growth domestic product (GDP).
“90 per cent of Russians use these platforms.”
He speculated: “If we took out Amazon, [if it] was taken offline tomorrow, imagine the damage of that to small, medium-sized enterprises.”
Foreman also said the Wildberries attacks most affected those who have already been suffering economic impacts of war for the last four year.
But these new wave of strikes are like the final nail in the coffin.
“People trying to make money, trying to make a living through buying and selling stuff, and then suddenly that’s taken away,” he said.
Galeotti said the aim of the attacks was to “puncture” the deal between Putin and his population: Don’t protest and you won’t be impacted by the war.
He warned that although the latest tactic had been hugely successful, there is still some way to go before the world sees Russians marching in the streets.
Foreman agreed this week’s campaign had been largely effective in disrupting life in Russia.
He said: “On the battlefield, it’s been pretty static on and off for three or four years, but opening up this direct campaign against the Russian economy has proven more successful.”
Speculating on what Ukraine could target next, Foreman said data centres or communication nodes could be on the cards.
“There are clever people inside Ukraine trying to work out where’s the best places to target inside Russia which had the biggest payoff in terms of slowing the Russian war machine down and also… putting dilemmas on top of Putin.”
Seskuria said: “I think for now it’s fair to say that the momentum is more on Ukraine’s side.
“Russia has been reputationally quite damaged in the sense that they are unable to do anything about the successful Ukrainian long-range drone attacks.
“And if Ukraine wants to wants to proceed in its current pace, I think they have a good potential to significantly damage Russian critical infrastructure.”
Before the first Wildberries attack last weekend, Ukraine had been on a campaign of targeting Russian energy infrastructure – blowing up oil hubs in a bid to paralyse Putin’s economy.
The strikes sparked mass fuel shortages and massive lines at gas stations – as well as outrage among countless residents due to the soaring cost of living.
Ukraine has also been blitzing Crimea – the Russian-occupied territory which was annexed in 2014 – in an attempt to isolate the peninsula from the mainland and stir unrest.
