Ukraine has unleashed more apocalyptic strikes on 'Russia's Amazon', leaving many of the key retail outlets swallowed up in massive fireballs and more than £1 billion in damaged business.The overnight attacks targeted warehouses in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk belonging to online giant Wildberries - and are likely to cost more than £1billion in damages, according to reports. Fifteen people have been injured in the latest strikes, the company's founder and regional governors said. It means Russians have suffered their most devastating home goal in the war with Ukraine - a massive Kyiv drone attack on Wildberries in revenge for Putin's earlier ballistic onslaught on Kyiv.Days of strikes on the popular Wildberries business have left Russian business bankrupt and the worst hit business people questioning the Kremlin’s bloody war. Ukraine’s drones sparked major blazes for a third night running with increasingly devastating attacks calculated to drive a wedge between ordinary people and Vladimir Putin’s war. It came just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky bowed to popular pressure and fired his Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, 60, replacing him with modernising Maj-Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, 43.The strikes are a further blow to Vladimir Putin's already struggling economy as pressure mounts on the Kremlin to begin peace talks.Huge pillars of smoke poured into the air as thousands of small sellers who stored products at Wildberries saw their businesses and future plans burn. Kyiv’s latest onslaught has left many fearing millions in rubles in terms of stock has disappeared overnight as Putin’s war finally landed on their doorstep.Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky said Wildberries was targeted because it supplies Russian troops with drone technology to be used in Ukraine. The attacks on Wilberries are seen as cold revenge for the Kremlin’s huge drone and ballistic missile onslaught on Kyiv on Sunday killing six and injuring dozens. Two other Wildberries hubs were struck over the weekend, including in Elektrostal near Moscow, and in Tambov region, causing £1.5billion in damages. The Elektrostal centre was left in ruins. Ukraine accuses the Kremlin-linked retail giant of supplying Putin's military machine. Wildberries is owned by Putin-backing Tatyana Kim, 50, Russia's richest woman with a £6.1billion fortune.Kim said in a post on Telegram: "There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on us, who are simply doing our jobs."But these situations demonstrate the most important thing: we must continue to do what we do for the benefit of people."Ten people were injured in Krasnodar, including three in a serious condition, the region's governor Veniamin Kondratyev said. Another five people were hurt at a warehouse complex on the outskirts of Nevinnomyssk, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on Telegram.A firefighting helicopter was called in to tackle the massive blaze in Krasnodar, capital of a region of the same name which is home to three Putin palaces. Thick black smoke rose from the two warehouse complexes which are 148 miles apart.The fires at the fourth and sixth largest Wildberries bases in Russia shows another failure for Putin’s air defences. The Krasnodar base was 1.65million square feet while in Nevinnomyssk site was 1.3million square feet.One desperate supplier to the retail giant said: "Many will wake up bankrupt today." A resident of Nevinnomyssk in Stavropol region pleaded: "Putin - end this war now."A major oil depot was also ablaze at Armavir in Krasnodar region after being attacked by a swarm of at least 16 Ukrainian drones. The attack - which killed one person - was aimed at causing further oil shortages in Russia where petrol and diesel queues are commonplace, stifling the Putin economy.And occupied Crimea was hit by blackouts after the latest Ukrainian strikes on power plants in the Black Sea peninsula. The attacks came as Ukraine is gaining the upper hand in the war with Russia - and as Zelensky replaced the General who has led the turnaround."I am handing over to my successor an army that not only holds the defence but is also in a state of offensive – with initiative, structure, and people who know how to defeat the enemy," said the fired Syrskyi in a farewell message.After days of fevered speculation, he was replaced by the younger Drapatyi who is seen as more ready to embrace drone warfare and AI.Syrskyi was nicknamed 'The Butcher' for his readiness to defend the frontlines without regard for human life. He bragged today that he had reclaimed 270 square miles of Ukrainian territory this year from the Russian invaders."I am not authorised to talk about some of the operations we carried out over these years, even today. History will tell about them," he said.Drapatyi has argued Ukraine can better defend itself by using the country's new high-powered drones and missiles, developed during the war. Zelensky was forced by public pressure to make the change and will now face rising demands to restore 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister. Fedorov lost his job last week after demanding Russian-born Syrskyi should be replaced. Russia overnight struck a Nova Poshta logistics centre in Odesa, and the city's port. The attacks on Russia's Amazon are seen as revenge for Russia's relentless strikes on multiple Nova Poshta bases. Five people including three children were injured in a Russian strike on Kyiv region.Sunday’s missile and drone attack by the Kremlin on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv were the biggest use of ballistic weaponry on Kyiv since the 2022 war started. Kremlin ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities are on the rise as desperate Russian President Vladimir Putin smells he faces defeat and demands death and destruction. Kyiv is dismantling Putin’s oil and gas export machine with well-planned drone and missile attacks on his energy installations with deep-strike missions inside Russia.But when the former KGB officer-turned-murderous despot’s back is against the wall his only instinct is to escalate the violence and intimidation-hence the increased ballistic threat. On Sunday the Kremlin’s air force launched its biggest ballistic missile attack on Kyiv since the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine started, in a worrying escalation.Without US-made Patriot missiles which cost around £3m a shot they are unlikely to be intercepted and can pile violently into civilian household causing devastation. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is desperate for NATO to speed up their distribution to Kyiv as a priority to defend against the growing threat. The problem is that America only makes as many as 650 Patriots every year and it and the Gulf States, plus Israel pressurised stocks to defend against the Iranian missile threat.And it is possible for Russian weapons manufacturers to make 1,000 ballistic missiles every year, with production schedules accelerating at impressive speed. Olha Polishchuk, eastern Europe research manager for war monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, says;“More than 1,600 days into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sunday night’s attack was very likely the largest ballistic missile barrage on Kyiv since the beginning of the war. Explosions lasted for five hours in Kyiv, leading to fires and damage to civilian infrastructure across the city. At least one person was killed, 20 were wounded. As a capital city housing the central government, Kyiv is well protected by air defence. Ukraine has mastered drone interception and successfully intercepts almost all cruise missiles.'Russia therefore requires a very large number of drones and cruise missiles to overwhelm air defences for an attack to land. The situation is different, however, when it comes to ballistic and Zircon missiles, which are shot down with Patriot interceptor missiles that Ukraine currently lacks. While Sunday’s attack has not been the deadliest or the biggest in terms of the total number of missiles and drones used, it signifies Russia’s increased reliance on ballistic and Zircon missiles to exploit Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot missiles.“Importantly, as Russia deploys the increasingly high concentration of ballistic missiles at a time when Ukraine’s capacity to intercept them is under increasing pressure, it chooses to hit populous residential areas and cause terror, rather than focusing strictly on militarily significant targets. Unless Ukraine can secure a steady supply of Patriot missiles, Russia may use the same vulnerability to once again disable and destroy the remaining energy infrastructure that powers and heats Ukraine ahead of the next winter season."
Apocalyptic fires as Ukraine unleashes hell on Russia's Amazon - £1bn of damage
Ukraine brings war home to Russia with strikes on warehouses belonging to Russia's huge Wildberries retailer, leaving several injured and causing over £1 billion in damage










