Ukraine hits ‘Russian Amazon’ warehouse in latest infrastructure strike away from frontlines

Summary

• An apparent Ukrainian drone strike has hit a warehouse belonging to Wildberries – often called “Russia’s Amazon”

• Video shows an explosion near a warehouse in the Vladimir region, about 112 miles (180km) east of Moscow – BBC Verify examines the footage

• Wildberries is Russia’s biggest online retailer – its parent group is valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) – and has been repeatedly hit by Ukraine in recent weeks

• Ukraine says the depots are used to supply the Russian military, a claim Russia denies

• To many Russians, until recently, war was something happening far away – that is changing, our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg writes

• Meanwhile, six people have been killed by falling drone debris in a village in south-west Russia, the local governor says

• The war is now in its fifth year – how did we get here?

Putin hopes to ‘drag war out further’, Zelensky tells diplomats

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky says that Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to “drag this war out further” as Ukraine launches fresh strikes on targets across Russia.

In a speech delivered to Ukrainian diplomats, Zelensky says he cannot predict “with 100% certainty” when Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts, sanctions and strikes against Russia will leave Russia with “no alternative but peace”.

He says Ukraine will do what it can to ensure this “happens in the autumn”, but says “we clearly understand who we are dealing with”, adding that Putin “hopes to drag this war out further”.

“We see Russia’s true intentions [and] are uniting our partners and putting pressure on the aggressor,” he adds.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence says it struck a number of Russian military targets overnight, in addition to apparent Ukrainian strikes against sites belonging to Russian retailer Wildberries.

It says it hit several logistics and communications hubs in Crimea, a drone launch site in Bryansk and a fuel depot in Belgorod.

It comes amid increasing Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, with Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday announcing strikes against an oil refinery and military air base in Russia’s Stratov region.

“We are bringing the war back to where it came from,” he said, adding that Ukraine continues to expand its “long-range capabilities”.

Other notable infrastructure strikes in recent months include:

• 4 July – Ukraine hit a a major oil terminal in the city of St Petersburg, with Zelensky describing it as key “infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war”
• 24 June – A Ukrainian strike against an electricity substation knocked out power in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-occupied Crimea
• 18 June – Plumes of black smoke filled the Moscow sky as Ukraine hit an oil refinery in one of its largest attacks since the outbreak of the war
• 30 April – Ukraine says it hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the city of Perm, more than 1,500km (930 miles) from the front line

Crimea deaths come as Ukraine ramps up attempts to isolate region

The latest set of blows between Russia and Ukraine has led to three deaths in the Russian-controlled territory of Crimea, the Moscow-installed governor has said, in what he described as a “barbaric attack”.

The region, which is internationally recognised as being Ukrainian, was illegally annexed by Vladimir Putin in 2014.

It has since become linked to Russia by road and rail connections along a land corridor through occupied areas of southern Ukraine, and since 2018 by a road and rail bridge across the Kerch Strait.

The future of the territory has remained a central point in peace talks between the two countries, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refusing the possibility of Kyiv recognising Russian control.

Efforts from Ukraine to isolate Crimea have ramped up in recent months as multiple blackouts have been reported amid attacks on power facilities, with Kyiv also targeting key bridges connecting the peninsula to Russia, leading to fuel shortages.