Explosions and fires were reported overnight on 24 July in occupied Crimea, St Petersburg and Russia’s Leningrad region. According to monitoring channels and local authorities, at least three Wildberries logistics facilities and a power substation in Crimea’s Kirov district were struck.
The first reports of the attack appeared on the evening of 23 July. The Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported drones, fire from mobile air-defence groups and explosions in Sevastopol, Simferopol, Feodosia, Yevpatoria and Sudak.
Fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Simferopol
Most reports came from Simferopol. Local residents described powerful explosions, a glow in the sky and thick black smoke near the GRES settlement.
It was initially suggested that a thermal power plant had been attacked. Crimean Wind later published video and reported a strike on a Wildberries warehouse opposite the Semashko Republican Clinical Hospital.
Wildberries’ press service confirmed that employees had been evacuated from its sorting centre in Simferopol. Satellite imagery indicated that the warehouse fire was visible from space.
Major power substation burns in Crimea
Crimean Wind’s monitoring group also reported a fire at a power substation between the villages of Novopokrovka and Vladyslavivka in the Kirov district of occupied Crimea.
The facility was identified as the NS-16 substation, operating at 110/35/6–10 kV. It supplies electricity to nearby settlements and to a pumping station near the Feodosia reservoir.
There were also unconfirmed reports of a strike on a power substation in Sudak. Following the explosions, the city reportedly lost electricity, while water supplies were interrupted in most districts.
A possible strike near the port was reported in Feodosia, while a series of explosions was heard near Cape Fiolent in Sevastopol.
Two Wildberries warehouses attacked near St Petersburg
Explosions were reported in St Petersburg and the Leningrad region on the morning of 24 July. Following an analysis of eyewitness footage, the independent outlet ASTRA said a Wildberries warehouse had been attacked in the Utkina Zavod industrial zone in the village of Novosaratovka, Vsevolozhsk district.
The company later confirmed that operations at its logistics centres in Shushary and Utkina Zavod had been temporarily suspended. Employees were evacuated.
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said 59 drones had been shot down in the region. According to him, three people were injured in a strike on the Wildberries warehouse in Novosaratovka and were taken to hospital in a moderate condition.
A warehouse belonging to the Severnaya poultry farm in the settlement of Sinyavino was also damaged. Part of the structure collapsed, but no casualties were reported.
St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov said civilian infrastructure on Moskovskoye Highway had been hit. The Wildberries logistics centre in Shushary is located in that area.
Around 50 flights were delayed at Pulkovo Airport because of the attack, while another 15 aircraft were expected to arrive from alternate airports.
Previous attacks on Wildberries warehouses
A series of strikes on Wildberries logistics infrastructure began overnight on 18 July. Drones reportedly attacked major company facilities in Kotovsk, Tambov region, and Elektrostal near Moscow. According to Russian authorities, eight employees were killed at the two sites and dozens of people were injured.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later confirmed Ukrainian long-range strikes on logistics hubs in the Moscow and Tambov regions. He said the facilities had been used to supply sanctioned components needed for the production of Russian drones and navigation equipment.
On 20 July, a fire was reported at the Yuzhnye Vorota industrial park in the Moscow region, where another Wildberries logistics facility is located. Reports of a fire at a separate company warehouse in Koledino were later not confirmed, and the facility resumed operations after employees were evacuated.
Overnight on 22 July, Wildberries logistics centres in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk in Russia’s Stavropol region were also reportedly targeted. A major fire broke out at the warehouse on Tikhoretskaya Street in Krasnodar, while staff at both facilities were evacuated.
Even before the latest attack on 24 July, the strikes had affected a significant part of Wildberries’ logistics network. The company denies that its facilities are used for Russian military purposes.
The Ukrainian side had not officially commented on the overnight strikes by the time of publication.
