Morning in the Moscow region began with a massive fire visible from dozens of kilometers away. The fire engulfed a warehouse complex of the Wildberries marketplace in Elektrostal. The incident occurred as a result of a drone attack, confirmed by the region's governor, Andrey Vorobyov.
Casualties and scale of the incident
According to official data, 24 people were injured as a result of the strikes. Some of them are in critical condition. Governor Vorobyov personally confirmed the fact of the strike on Wildberries facilities. The situation at the scene was documented by the OSINT project ASTRA and the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+, which published videos showing thick black smoke rising above the site.
Targets of the attack and geography of strikes
On the night of July 18, drones struck several objects in the region. In addition to the warehouse in Elektrostal, an oil depot in Noginsk was hit. Reports of explosions also came from Tver and Vladimir. Smoke from the fires was visible from afar, as confirmed by reports from the 'CTD' channel.
Marketplace position
Wildberries, the largest Russian marketplace, has faced significant losses. The company's owners have been under sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine since 2021. According to Russian media, the company's management does not plan to compensate sellers for the loss of goods stored in the attacked warehouses. Wildberries explains its decision by stating that the fall of drones and their debris constitutes force majeure circumstances, exempting the company from liability.
