Warehouse war: Russian strike kills 37 near Kyiv as Ukraine hits back at Ozon, DNS and Wildberries hubs

The war of attrition on supply chains escalated sharply over the past 48 hours, with a Russian drone strike on a warehouse in the Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast killing at least 37 people and wounding 42, while Ukrainian forces retaliated by pounding logistics centres belonging to Ozon, DNS and Wildberries deep inside Russia.

Deadly blast in Myla

On the evening of 28 August, a Russian drone hit a warehouse in the village of Myla, about 20 km west of Kyiv. The resulting explosion and fire – described by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “detonation” – levelled the facility and damaged at least 50 residential buildings, including a care home for elderly and disabled people (The Guardian). More than 370 people were evacuated from the area.

Zelenskyy said criminal proceedings had been opened on charges of official negligence, adding: “There are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas.” The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office confirmed it was investigating the “storage of explosive objects and materials” on the enterprise’s grounds. One of the dead was Taras Didych, the head of the Dmytrivka community, who was killed while rescuing people.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen called the attack a “terrible flashback to March 2022 and the Bucha massacre”, writing on X: “Four years on, Russia has not changed. It continues to deliberately target civilians, violate international law and pursue maximalist war aims through terror and violence” (Ukrainska Pravda).

Ukrainian retaliation: Ozon, DNS and Wildberries hit

In response, Ukrainian forces launched a coordinated drone campaign against Russian logistics infrastructure. On the night of 28-29 August, drones struck Rostov Oblast, hitting warehouses belonging to Ozon and DNS, as well as a shipbuilding facility in Aksai. Ozon confirmed its facility was hit, saying a small fire broke out but was extinguished immediately (Ukrainska Pravda). A large fire was reported at the DNS electronics warehouse.

Earlier in the week, on 26 August, a Ukrainian drone attack completely destroyed a Wildberries logistics centre in Kotovsk, Tambov Oblast. Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said the facility – roughly 100,000 square metres in size – was “completely destroyed by fire”. One person was injured (Al Jazeera). The Wildberries hub had only begun operations in 2025 and was expected to store up to 54 million items.

On 27 August, Ozon reported drone attacks on its logistics facilities in Ufa and Orenburg. The company said all employees were evacuated and no casualties occurred, though the Ufa complex sustained minor damage (Ukrainska Pravda). Unconfirmed reports also indicated a fire at an Ozon warehouse in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan.

Strategic significance: targeting the supply chain

Ukraine has systematically targeted Russian e-commerce logistics hubs since mid-July, accusing Wildberries and Ozon of being part of Russia’s military supply chain – a charge both companies deny. The two firms dominate Russia’s online retail sector, which is one of the few growing parts of an otherwise stagnant economy. By hitting these hubs, Ukraine aims to disrupt the flow of goods that sustain both the civilian economy and, allegedly, military logistics.

On 28 August, President Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces also struck a Tu-95MS strategic bomber at Engels airbase, as well as an oil refinery in Yaroslavl Oblast, 1,000 km from the front line. “Russians must feel what their war is like,” he said (Ukrainska Pravda).

Russian strikes on civilian warehouses in Kyiv

Russia has also intensified its targeting of civilian warehouses in Ukraine. On 27 August, a Russian drone struck a warehouse in Kyiv housing books from Readeat, Book.ua and several Ukrainian publishers, destroying print runs. Vivat CEO Yuliia Orlova wrote: “We lost in this lottery of where the strike would land tonight. So today, the Kyiv warehouse where Vivat’s books were stored burned down” (Ukrainska Pravda).

The same night, a Russian attack destroyed the distribution centre of Budynok Ihrashok (House of Toys), a children’s toy retailer. The company said no employees were injured but warned of delays (Ukrainska Pravda).

On 25 August, Russian drones set a warehouse on fire in Kharkiv’s Osnovianskyi district, though no casualties were reported (Ukrainska Pravda).

Wider picture

The exchange of strikes on infrastructure comes as both sides continue large-scale drone barrages. On the night of 25-26 August, Russia launched 162 drones against Ukraine; Ukraine’s air force said 134 were shot down or jammed, with hits recorded at 18 locations (Ukrainska Pravda).

Debris from drones has even washed up on Bulgarian and Romanian Black Sea beaches, underscoring the geographical spread of the conflict (Ukrainska Pravda).

The Myla disaster has also prompted a domestic investigation. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi expressed regret that lessons had not been learned from a similar deadly strike on a munitions depot in Vyshneve in July, which killed 22 people (The Guardian).

As the war enters its fifth year, the targeting of warehouses – both military and civilian – has become a central tactic for both sides, turning logistics hubs into front-line targets and civilians into collateral casualties.