Ukrainian Drones Strike Ozon Warehouse in Saratov, Setting It Ablaze
The overnight attack on the online retailer's warehouse is the latest in a campaign that has hit more than two dozen such facilities since midsummer.
Ukrainian drones struck a warehouse belonging to Ozon, Russia's second-largest online retailer, in the Volga river city of Saratov overnight, triggering a fire and an evacuation, the company said on Friday. Ozon suspended all orders and deliveries across the Saratov region. The attack adds to more than two dozen warehouses owned by Ozon and its top rival Wildberries that have been hit since the middle of summer.
Videos and photographs shared on social media showed the warehouse engulfed in large flames and thick smoke. Ozon shares fell five per cent on the Moscow Exchange on news of the strike. The exiled news outlet Astra reported that a separate fire broke out at a Rosneft-owned oil refinery in Saratov, which has been targeted multiple times since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Saratov region governor Roman Busargin confirmed damage only to what he described as civilian infrastructure in the city, and said there were no casualties. NASA's fire monitoring service, FIRMS, showed two active fires on the southern and western outskirts of Saratov, where the Rosneft refinery and the Ozon warehouse are respectively located.
Elsewhere, in the Tula region south of Moscow, governor Dmitry Milyayev reported that two people were killed and three others injured in a drone strike. Further to the south-west, in the Belgorod region, local officials said a driver was killed and his passenger injured when a drone struck their vehicle near the border with Ukraine on Thursday evening. Acting governor Alexander Shuvayev reported four civilian deaths and 16 injuries over the past 24 hours. Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted 777 Ukrainian drones across Russia and Ukraine between Thursday night and Friday morning.
The strikes form part of Ukraine's deepening campaign against targets inside Russia, as Kyiv defends its sovereignty against Moscow's unprovoked assault. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page detailing its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.