WATCH VIDEOS: Massive Blaze Erupts After Ukraine Strikes Russia's Wildberries Warehouse Again

The Kremlin has denied any military connection to Wildberries, although it acknowledged financial losses for the company and its associated businesses.

Ukraine has struck another warehouse belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, prompting the company to suspend operations at one of its logistics centres as Kyiv widens its drone campaign against infrastructure it says supports Russia’s military. The overnight attack on Thursday marks the latest in a series of strikes on Wildberries facilities. Kyiv says it has targeted four of the company’s warehouses since the weekend, arguing they form part of infrastructure that supports the Russian armed forces.

The Kremlin has denied that Wildberries handles military supplies.

Open-source analysis by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper estimated that the recent attacks have damaged around 10% of Wildberries’ logistics capacity, equivalent to approximately 552,000 sq m of warehouse space.

Wildberries has not commented on the extent of the damage. However, the Kremlin said both the company and the small and medium-sized businesses that sell goods through its platform had suffered financial losses.

The attacks come as Russia continues to target Ukraine’s logistics hubs, energy infrastructure and electricity grid.

Wildberries, together with rival Ozon and smaller online marketplaces, accounts for goods and services worth the equivalent of 8.5% of Russia’s gross domestic product, according to Reuters. The sector employs around four million people, more than 5% of the country’s workforce.

The Kremlin views continued growth in the consumer economy as an important part of efforts to stimulate Russia’s wider economy, which has become increasingly focused on the war.

Separately, the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, said an overnight drone attack damaged the roof of a warehouse owned by an online marketplace and killed a three-year-old boy. He did not identify the company.

On Thursday morning, Wildberries announced on Telegram that it was extending the suspension of operations at its Voronezh warehouse from midnight until 7:00am.

Several hours later, the company said the warehouse would remain closed. “We see all your inquiries and concerns,” the company wrote. “Please be patient.”

In a statement to Reuters, Wildberries said: “Warehouse operations will resume shortly.”

Meanwhile, Vladimir Vladimirov, governor of Russia’s southern Stavropol region, said firefighters had extinguished a blaze at a “logistics centre” in the town of Nevinnomyssk following an overnight attack. He thanked emergency services for what he described as their “huge efforts”.