---
title: "Putin Orders Government to Rebuild Warehouses After Month-Long Ukrainian Operation: Key Statements of August 19"
description: "Putin ordered the government to restore warehouses damaged during a month-long Ukrainian operation since July 18 and declared economic growth. On August 19, the sides exchanged 103 prisoners each."
date: 2026-08-19T22:59:24.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/putin-orders-government-to-rebuild-warehouses-after-month-long-ukrainian-operation
tags: [putin, wildberries, ukraine-russia-war, prisoner-exchange, eu-sanctions, logistics]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Putin Orders Government to Rebuild Warehouses After Month-Long Ukrainian Operation: Key Statements of August 19

![Vladimir Putin at a table with a microphone and documents in front of Russian flags during a meeting where he ordered the government to restore warehouses after the Ukrainian operation](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/20/putin-poruchil-vosstanovlenie-skladov-posle-atak/putin-poruchil-vosstanovlenie-skladov-posle-atak-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Putin ordered the government to restore commercial warehouses damaged during a month-long Ukrainian operation, without naming a specific company.
- Since July 18, Ukraine has attacked at least 24 Wildberries warehouses with drones, destroying a significant portion of the warehouse space.
- On August 19, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 103 prisoners of war each; another exchange is expected at the end of the month.
- EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas announced the most extensive sanctions in history against Russia in the coming months.

At an economic conference on August 19, 2026, attended by ministers and business representatives, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a series of statements touching on the restoration of logistics infrastructure, the resilience of the economy under sanctions pressure, and the humanitarian aspects of the conflict. The central point of his address was an instruction to the government to implement a program to restore commercial warehouses that were damaged or destroyed during a targeted Ukrainian operation that lasted about a month.

### Instruction to Restore Warehouses

The President did not name a specific company, but stated that some logistics facilities must be restored with state support and demanded that the government immediately begin the work. "The key point is ensuring the restoration of the damaged facilities using new, higher-quality technologies," the Russian leader emphasized on live television. Thus, Moscow has in effect acknowledged the scale of the damage and shifted the organizational and financial obligations onto the cabinet.

### Month-Long Campaign of Strikes on Logistics

According to available data, since July 18, 2026, Ukraine has been carrying out drone attacks targeting at least 24 warehouses of Wildberries — the leading Russian online retailer. Explosions and fires destroyed a significant portion of the company's warehouse space. The Ukrainian side, whose cities, ports, and logistics centers are also under attack, states that it is pursuing a strategy aimed at making Russia pay an even greater price for continuing the conflict.

### Economic Narrative and EU Sanctions

Putin stated that the Russian economy continues to grow despite external pressure — referring to Western sanctions — as well as Ukrainian attacks on industry and infrastructure. "Of course, such attacks have not led and cannot lead to serious consequences. However, they have caused damage, which is obvious, and we fully understand and acknowledge this reality," he said. Against the backdrop of these remarks, the head of EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, earlier this week announced that in the coming months the European Union would impose the most extensive sanctions in history against Russia.

### Prisoner Exchange: 103 for 103

Also on August 19, officials from both countries announced that Russia and Ukraine had exchanged 103 prisoners of war each. In his Telegram message, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that among the repatriated Ukrainian detainees are members of the Armed Forces, the National Border Guard Service, and the National Guard. On the Russian side, the Interfax news agency, citing the Ministry of Defense, also confirmed the exchange. Ukrainian intelligence services added that another exchange is expected at the end of August. Since the start of the conflict in 2022, Kyiv and Moscow have regularly carried out such exchanges, although the parties still deeply disagree on the terms of a peace agreement.

### Contradictory Data

There are notable discrepancies in the parties' formulations and in damage assessments. First, Putin did not name a single specific company in his public address, whereas international and Ukrainian sources directly point to the Wildberries network as the main target of the month-long operation; thus, official Russian rhetoric and the media identification of the target do not match in terms of specificity. Second, there is a contradiction in the assessment of the consequences of the strikes: the Russian leader claims that the attacks "have not led and cannot lead to serious consequences" while simultaneously acknowledging the fact of damage caused, whereas the Ukrainian side positions these strikes as the successful execution of a "make them pay the price" strategy. Finally, the composition of the repatriated is disclosed asymmetrically: Zelenskyy details the categories of Ukrainian prisoners of war, while the Russian side limits itself to a general confirmation of the number through the Defense Ministry, without revealing similar details.

The totality of the statements on August 19 demonstrates Moscow's dual line: on the one hand — public acknowledgment of damage to logistics and the launch of a state restoration program; on the other — the maintenance of a narrative of economic resilience and the inability of Ukrainian strikes to change the strategic balance. The parallel prisoner exchange in the format of 103 for 103 and the announced next batch at the end of the month indicate that the humanitarian track remains a working channel against the backdrop of growing sanctions pressure from the EU.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Putin addressed the government with a request to help restore commercial warehouses.](https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/ong-putin-yeu-cau-chinh-phu-ho-tro-xay-dung-lai-cac-kho-hang-thuong-mai) - Подтверждает поручение Путина по восстановлению складов и контекст заявления.
- [Putin instructed to help restore damaged warehouses](https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/6a85a0449a79472f1593572a) - Российский источник подтверждает поручение правительству и цитаты с конференции 19 августа.
- [Putin ordered the government to adopt a warehouse restoration program after the attacks by the Ukrainian army](https://profile.ru/news/economy/putin-poruchil-pravitelstvu-prinyat-programmu-vosstanovleniya-skladov-posle-atak-vsu-1892676/) - Подтверждает программу восстановления и связь с атаками ВСУ.
- [Difficult situation in the economy, consequences of the attacks, and warehouse restoration: the main statements ...](https://76.ru/text/politics/2026/08/19/76596568/) - Подтверждает экономический нарратив и заявления о последствиях атак.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What exactly did Putin instruct the government to do on August 19?
**A:** Putin instructed the government to immediately begin restoring damaged commercial warehouses with state support, using new, higher-quality technologies. He did not name a specific company.

### Q: Which facilities were the target of the Ukrainian operation since July 18?
**A:** According to available data, the drone attacks targeted at least 24 warehouses of Wildberries — the leading Russian online retailer — resulting in explosions, fires, and the destruction of a significant portion of the warehouse space.

### Q: How many prisoners of war did Russia and Ukraine exchange on August 19?
**A:** The sides exchanged 103 prisoners of war each. Zelenskyy reported that among the repatriated are members of the Armed Forces, the border guard service, and the national guard; the Russian side confirmed the exchange through the Defense Ministry. Another exchange is expected at the end of the month.

### Q: What did EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas state?
**A:** Kaja Kallas stated that in the coming months the European Union would impose the most extensive sanctions in history against Russia.