Ukraine launched drone attacks on six facilities belonging to Ozon, Russia’s second-largest online retailer, within a three-day period, prompting a significant stock market decline for the company. The attacks targeted logistics hubs and warehouses across multiple southern Russian cities, including Makhachkala in Dagestan, Krasnodar, Adygeysk, and Nevinnomyssk, with fires reported at several locations and workers evacuated from affected sites. This campaign follows Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries, another major Russian e-commerce platform, leaving both retailers substantially weakened.
Financial analysts noted structural differences between the two companies that may affect their recovery prospects. While Wildberries benefits from backing by state-owned bank VTB, Ozon’s primary shareholder AFK Sistema carries significant debt and is unlikely to provide comparable financial support. President Vladimir Putin announced state assistance for warehouse reconstruction and directed the government to develop a support program for the sector. The European Union had imposed sanctions on the financial units of both companies earlier in the month.
In response to the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, Putin issued a presidential decree granting the state authority to seize control of companies deemed inadequately protected from attack. The measure covers fuel, energy, industrial, communications, transport, and logistics facilities considered essential to national security and economic stability. Under these powers, the state may assume ownership of physical and financial assets if responsible entities fail to provide adequate protection or respond slowly to damage recovery.
Ukrainian military operations continued on multiple fronts during the same period. Forces reported striking a Russian MiG-29 fighter aircraft and two vessels in the Black Sea, marking the third warplane hit in two days. Ukraine’s general staff also claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian military plant in the Rostov region that produces solid rocket fuel for weapons systems.
Russia’s energy infrastructure sustained additional damage as the Perm oil refinery, the nation’s seventh-largest facility by processing volume, shut down following a Ukrainian drone attack on 21 August. Two primary refining units accounting for approximately 74 percent of the plant’s total capacity were damaged or remained idle, with repair work expected to require one to two weeks. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Kyiv during Ukraine’s independence day celebrations and urged allies to increase provision of Patriot interceptor missiles while calling for escalated economic pressure on Russia. In related developments, Ukraine reported the release of ten prisoners of war previously listed as missing in action through an exchange facilitated via Belarus.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI