Ukraine’s Deep Strikes on Russian Arms Plant and Wildberries Warehouses Put Kremlin’s Home‑Front Vulnerability on Display
Ukrainian forces are claiming fresh hits on a Russian missile and air‑defense plant in Kirov and additional drone strikes on Wildberries logistics hubs near St. Petersburg and in Leningrad region. The attacks extend a campaign that has already disabled most of the e‑commerce giant’s biggest warehouses and now reaches into Russia’s arms supply chain. Readers will learn what facilities were targeted, how Moscow’s economy and military production are being pressured, and why a Dutch‑made cruise missile’s reported debut matters.
The war is reaching deeper into Russia’s economic and industrial heartland. Ukrainian strikes reported on 24 July hit a defense plant in Kirov tied to some of Moscow’s most important missiles and continued a campaign against Wildberries, the country’s dominant online retailer, by targeting logistics centers around St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
Ukrainian sources said an FP‑5 "Flamingo" missile struck the Avitek plant in the city of Kirov. The facility is described as producing components for the Tor air defense system as well as for Russia’s Kh‑101 and Kh‑59 cruise missiles, weapons that have repeatedly been used against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Imagery or independent confirmation of the extent of the damage has not yet emerged, but any disruption at Avitek would touch on both Russia’s air defenses and its long‑range strike capacity.
At the same time, Ukrainian drones reportedly hit new logistics centers operated by Wildberries in St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region. Open‑source tracking suggests that, including these latest attacks, five of the company’s seven largest warehouses — in Electrostal, Shushary, Krasnodar, Nevinnomyssk, and Belye Stolby — have now been struck in recent days. Video circulated online on 24 July showed burning distribution complexes identified as Wildberries facilities, though exact locations could not be independently verified.
The operational fallout for Russia’s e‑commerce sector is already visible. Wildberries has suspended early withdrawals for sellers, meaning merchants can no longer access their earnings ahead of the standard payout schedule. Sellers have also been told they cannot extract goods from affected warehouses, and the company has not announced compensation for losses tied to the drone attacks. For thousands of small businesses that rely on the platform’s rapid fulfillment, the disruption translates into frozen cash flow and stranded inventory.
Ukraine has said that Wildberries warehouses are being used to store dual‑use goods including body armor, uniforms, and fiber‑optic equipment, casting the hubs as legitimate military‑related targets. Skeptical commentaries have countered that similar items can be bought on global e‑commerce platforms and questioned whether the primary effect is economic and psychological rather than strictly military. Regardless of the inventory mix, the message to Russian consumers and entrepreneurs is blunt: the war can now set fire to the infrastructure they use to shop and sell.
Another thread in this deep‑strike campaign surfaced with reports of the first sighting of a Dutch‑made Ruta Block 1 cruise missile flying over Russian territory. The missile is described as carrying a 150‑kilogram warhead with a range of up to 300 kilometers. While there is no official confirmation of its use in a specific strike, the appearance of new Western‑supplied stand‑off munitions in Russian airspace would signal both growing foreign involvement and an expanding toolset for hitting targets far from the front line.
For the Kremlin, the strategic risk is cumulative. A hit on Avitek challenges the assumption that Russia’s high‑value defense manufacturing can operate beyond Ukraine’s reach. Repeated blows to Wildberries highlight how a war that the state has tried to present as distant is now damaging everyday services used by millions. Wildberries’ decision to lock sellers’ funds and goods underscores how quickly a military problem becomes a financial one for ordinary Russians.
Ukraine’s leadership is open about its intention to "bring the war home" to Russia’s logistics and arms base as retaliation for sustained strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and cities. The deeper its weapons can reach into Russia’s interior, the more Moscow must choose between protecting factories, power grids, and civilian commerce — a choice that stretches air defenses and budgets.
The core insight is that industrial warfare in 2026 no longer stops at front lines: drone swarms and cruise missiles now treat fulfillment centers and missile plants as part of the same battlefield. When a warehouse fire in St. Petersburg affects a village shop owner’s income, the distance between the Donbas and domestic Russian opinion quietly shrinks.
The next signals to watch will be any satellite or on‑the‑ground evidence of damage at Avitek, further restrictions or policy moves by Wildberries and Russian authorities to shield key logistics hubs, and whether more advanced Western‑made missiles are visibly used in strikes on Russian territory. Moscow’s choices about where to reinforce air defenses — industrial plants, energy nodes, or commercial infrastructure — will be an indicator of which vulnerabilities it fears most.
Sources
- OSINT