Warehouses belonging to Russia’s second‑largest online retailer were set ablaze by a sudden volley of Ukrainian drone attacks overnight.
Ozon reported that its logistics centres in Krasnodar, Dagestan, Stavropol and Adygea suffered major fires and several workers sustained injuries following the strikes.
Earlier this week Ukraine had struck sites owned by Wildberries, the country’s biggest retailer, claiming it supplied military components – a claim Moscow denies.
President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine opened “Pandora’s box” by targeting economic assets, warning that Russia would hit back at Kyiv’s most sensitive economic sectors.
Both sides deny targeting civilians, yet these attacks demonstrate the growing threat to ordinary people as commercial freight hubs become a vulnerable focus in the conflict.
The drones struck near Makhachkala at approximately 05:00 local time (02:00 GMT), setting ablaze a logistics centre. A separate centre in Krasnodar, 700km east, similarly caught fire, with Russian defence officials reporting casualties including three children who were killed, aged 13 to 16, and six others hospitalized.
Ozon’s stock plummeted by up to 12% on the Moscow Exchange, while shares of its private‑equity shareholder AFK Sistema fell nearly 13%. Kremlin spokesmen said they were working with business leaders to formulate potential support measures for Ozon amid the crisis.
The overnight strikes followed a previous raid on an Ozon site in the Samara region, where more workers were injured. Ukraine’s defence ministry characterised such strikes on dual‑use storage centres as a way to disrupt enemy logistics and hurt the Russian economy.
In Ukraine, strikes in the Odesa region hit food storage facilities and energy infrastructure, injuring five people, according to local officials.
Founded in 1998, Ozon is one of Russia’s pioneering online retailers and operates on a model similar to Wildberries, using only a marketplace structure that connects independent sellers with buyers and manages storage, delivery and payment handling.
Ozon and Wildberries logos frequently appear together on shared pickup points across Russia, underscoring the intertwined nature of online commerce in the country.
Both platforms serve 85‑90% of Russia’s economically active population, making them vital to remote communities lacking physical retail stores. The attacks have, therefore, removed a critical lifeline for many citizens and directly impacted local businesses.
Despite the Kremlin’s insistence that these platforms are not used for military supplies, the conflict has inevitably drawn them into the crossfire, bringing the war closer to the everyday lives of ordinary Russians.
