1/ Ukraine's devastating overnight drone attacks on Wildberries warehouses in Russia are likely intended to cause damage across the Russian economy and increase public discontent. The estimated losses may exceed $1.2 billion. ⬇️ bsky.app
Moscow Region: "Wildberries" Warehouse Destroyed Following Drone Attack
2/ At least 7 people are reported to have been killed and 49 more injured in the attacks. The head of Wildberries has promised to help the families of those killed. According to Russian estimates based on previous warehouse fires, financial losses are likely to be colossal. 3/ In a similar fire at Shushary, near St. Petersburg, in January 2024, Wildberries estimated the damage at 10 billion rubles ($127 million). It paid an additional 34.9 billion rubles ($449 million) to sellers in compensation for their losses. 4/ The Elektrostal warehouse near Moscow, which was destroyed in last night's attacks, covers twice the area of the one in Shushary. Considering the additional damage to another targeted warehouse in Tambov and price increases since 2024, estimated losses may reach 100 billion rubles. 5/ Russian warbloggers have been assessing the strategy behind the attacks. Alexander Kots highlights four principal motives: 6/ "First, the home front economy and internal pressure. The country's largest marketplace represents millions of orders per day, millions of sellers, taxes, and employment. 7/ "Destroying the hub means increasing delivery times, devastating small and medium-sized businesses, and triggering a wave of returns and claims. And this is precisely the calculation: to make the average person—the one waiting for a package, and the one feeding their family… 8/ …with that package—start looking for someone to blame within the country. Incidentally, Wildberries rewrote its offer back in early July: sellers are denied compensation for damage from drones—it's a force majeure. 9/ "The seller receives zero compensation and is angry not at Kyiv, but at the marketplace, the government, and their neighbour. 10/ "Second, psychology. The marketplace warehouse is a symbol of peaceful life. Not a factory, not an arsenal—a box of sneakers and vacuum cleaners. To strike here would be to tell the average Russian in Tambov and Elektrostal: you have no rear. 11/ "Hence the shrapnel [warheads]. The goal isn't to destroy concrete, but to saturate the burn and trauma wards. 12/ "Third. The image. The apocalyptic footage of a black column over the Moscow region can be seen tens of kilometers away. For the Ukrainian telethon, it's a "victory," for Western viewers, "Ukraine still stings." 13/ "Fourth. The cover-up with the fake "military cargo." By this logic, any bag anywhere in the country—from a post office to a pharmacy—becomes a "military target." Convenient. And you don't have to explain later why warehouse workers were finished off with shrapnel." 14/ Perhaps proving Kots' point about discontent, 'leib-hussar' blames the Russian government for its leaky air defences: 15/ "One could watch the fire and the water endlessly, just like one could watch Vladimir Vladimirovich remain silent, and how the "security forces" explain why we are not striking at bridges and the Ukrainian leadership... 🤡" bsky.app
💥 Moscow: Ukrainian drones blew up the 2nd largest Wildberries warehouse in Russia in the Moscow suburb of Elektrostal, 33 miles east of the Kremlin.
16/ Similarly, 'Alex Parker Returns' suggests that it proves the need for a mass mobilisation this fall after the Russian legislative elections: 17/ "A big hello to everyone who doesn't believe in mobilisation this fall. The crests launched a massive drone strike and Flamingo missiles on Wildberries warehouses. Pypa [Putin], here are the results." 18/ 'Archangel of Special Forces' has harsh words for the many people filming the strikes and their aftermath: bsky.app
Moment a drone strikes the Wildberries warehouse
19/ "The news feed is filled with reports of a burning warehouse. And once again, we see the foolishness of certain individuals who comment on what's happening and film the results of the strikes. 20/ "Thanks to the lack of common sense among these people, the other side is celebrating. Ukrainian channels are rejoicing, posting photos, videos, and geotags of the burning warehouses, accompanied by slogans: "This is for Nova Poshta." 21/ "With the first group, everything is clear – after five years of war, they still haven't grasped the basic awareness of their actions. 22/ "The second group, however, foolishly hopes that Wildberries stores military supplies, as their side does. Yes, military uniforms, weapon simulators, and equipment components are sold on the marketplace. But we're not talking about weapons or ammunition. 23/ "Let's recall that "Nova Poshta" has been involved in military logistics since 2023, disguising military cargo as civilian goods. There was plenty of evidence – including the transportation of BMPs on trailers under tarpaulins. 24/ "Currently, the enemy is supposedly "mirroring" the strikes on military hubs. But in reality, they have destroyed warehouses containing consumer goods, causing the most damage to representatives of small businesses." 25/ The Russian authorities have opened a mostly performative investigation into Ukrainian 'terrorism'. Roman Alekhin disputes that the attack had terroristic intentions: 26/ "The attacks on the warehouses of one of the country's leading marketplaces could be called a terrorist act, if it weren't for what Alexander Svechin described in "Strategy." 27/ "He wrote back in the early 20th century that there is no single front in a war, but three: military, economic, and internal political. And you can win or hold the front line, but lose the war by losing on the internal political or economic front. 28/ "The attack on Wildberries is not an attack on the country's economy, of course, but an attack on domestic policy. 29/ "Why? Because the destruction of two marketplace warehouses is a blow to thousands of sellers and tens of thousands of buyers who will not receive their goods or money and will be unhappy about it. 30/ "Yes, it's not critical, and yes, it will be compensated later, but in the moment, there will be dissatisfaction, which, as the enemy intends, will accumulate resentment towards the Special Military Operation and the authorities. 31/ "It is important to understand and explain this to people. Recently, in one of the studios, it was said that the attacks on oil refineries lead to more people entering into [military] contracts. 32/ "I don't know if that's really the case, but here we need to talk not about contracts, but about uniting in the face of a threat. It was said poorly, of course, but that's not the point. 33/ "The point is that in war, it's not only important what ammunition you use, but also when and where. If you strike with all your might at a place where the enemy has already left, it will be loud, but without results. 34/ "The same is true on the internal political front - a belated response looks like some kind of weak and even sometimes stupid anti-crisis measure." The attacks are being presented by Ukraine as retaliation for Russian attacks on the Ukrainian delivery company Nova Poshta. 35/ Some warbloggers are rushing to disclaim any similarities, as Alekhin does: "You will say: but we are also hitting "Nova Poshta" terminals – what is the difference? It's different, friends. I would say – unfortunately." 36/ "The thing is that since 2022, I have been writing that we need to use Wildberries and Ozon for military logistics, or at least create a parallel structure based on them. But somehow no one listened, although it would greatly speed up logistics. 37/ "But the enemy has already done this based on "Nova Poshta," and the real warehouses of this structure are partly the warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 38/ "And since 2022, there have been many reports that they are transporting weapons, ammunition, and now they are launching UAVs from civilian trucks." 39/ In reality, however, Wildberries sellers have been a major source of supplies to Russian soldiers – who have to buy much of their own equipment due to a lack of support from the Russian Ministry of Defence. Some warbloggers are honest enough to admit this. 40/ 'It's Time To Go Home' comments: "It’s quite funny when you order a Multicam camouflage outfit, only to find it’s described as a fishing outfit. But that doesn’t change the fact that WB meets a great many needs." 41/ 'NPV73' highlights the role that Wildberries plays in meeting many basic needs for soldiers: 42/ "Not long ago, our marketplaces banned the sale of various weapon modifications, parts and accessories (specifically those that are not essential components or items prohibited from free civilian circulation), as well as pyrotechnic products (electric fuses and the like). 43/ "It’s no secret that the vast majority of buyers of the items that are now banned from sale were servicemen on duty somewhere in the Special Military Operation (SVO) or Counter-Terrorism Operation (CTO) zones, simply because it was quick, convenient and easy. 44/ "And, to be honest, everything’s still on sale; it’s just now called God-knows-what (a fishing reel, an electric lighter – a fairy-light adapter), but that’s beside the point. 45/ "And so the ‘sanctions’ came from where we least expected them.The Ukrainians have hit the marketplaces’ warehouses hard, comparing these senseless strikes to our strikes against Nova Poshta,… 46/ …which in turn is being used to its full capacity in the logistics chain for delivering weapons to the territory of the Saloreich [literally 'Lard Reich', a pun on 'Third Reich']. 47/ "Shouldn’t the marketplace management lift their idiotic ban? After all, what’s now called ‘who knows what’ – and is sold anyway – is primarily used to exterminate the ‘pigs’ and take revenge for your burnt-down warehouses..." /end Sources: 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me