Ukraine Keeps Pounding Russia's Equivalent of Amazon

The Ukrainian attacks on the sprawling Russian warehouses produced stark images, with massive pillars of black smoke rising above fires that raged at facilities of Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer and its equivalent of Amazon. Kyiv's drones first hit the sites over the weekend, and then struck five more Wildberries warehouses during the week. Friday's strikes were reported on facilities in St. Petersburg, the adjacent Leningrad region, and Simferopol in Russian-held Crimea. In all, nine people were killed, reports the AP, and scores more injured. The strikes are part of Kyiv's aerial campaign aimed at undermining Russia's war effort, hurting its economy, and making people feel the consequences of the Kremlin's all-out invasion of Ukraine. A look at Wildberries and how it became a wartime target:

• Wildberries was launched in 2004 by Tatyana Kim, a teacher and a young mother at the time, focusing at first on selling clothes. Since then, the platform with its distinct purple logo has become an industry leader and household name, allowing big and small businesses alike to sell their goods to customers across the country by storing, shipping, and delivering their inventory. In April, Forbes Russia estimated Kim's fortune at $8.1 billion.
• Last year, the company had more than 200 logistics facilities totaling over 55 million square feet, with plans to expand, including warehouses in Belarus and Kazakhstan. Wildberries currently accounts for 52% of all online orders in Russia, said Sergei Semko, leading analyst with Data Insight.
• Shoppers interviewed Thursday in Moscow generally said they would continue to use Wildberries, even if it will cost more because of the attacks. "Well, if they raise the prices, I don't mind. It still saves me time, and time is even more valuable," said Irina Potapova.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not name Wildberries directly, but he has said the facilities his country attacked were involved in supplying gear and technical components to the Russian military. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that "it is not the case" and accused Kyiv of continuing to "strike civilian targets."
• A search of the Wildberries website showed goods that could be used for both civilian and military purposes, such as body armor, helmets, radios, and other electronics. Some of them were marked as "tested in the SVO" or "SVO fighters' choice"—a Russian acronym for "special military operation."
• The attacks have dealt a massive blow to many small businesses in Russia, Semko said. Since Saturday, business owners have taken to social media to say that inventory that was being stored by Wildberries had been destroyed, tearfully recounting their losses. Many wondered whether they would be compensated. Earlier this month, Wildberries changed its seller policy and is now exempt from liability for stock damaged because of a "force majeure," which includes drone attacks.