Updated July 23, 2026 – 5:31 am,first publication at 17:20
Save
You have reached the maximum number of items saved.
Remove items from the saved list to add new ones.
AAA
London: Ukraine has launched new attacks on Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberry in a sign of its ability to send explosive drones into enemy territory amid unrest in the Ukrainian army following public protests over the war.
The drones reached two of the retailer’s large warehouses in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, in southern Russia, east of Crimea, and caused flames to shoot into the sky in spectacular explosions that were captured on video and seen on social media.
The attacks come at a sensitive time in Ukraine after some members of the public gathered on the streets of Kyiv to express their concerns after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky fired popular Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov.
This week, Zelensky again attempted to end disunity in the military by removing the country’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, a general who has been divided over concerns over rising deaths among Ukrainian soldiers, from his strategy of inflicting maximum casualties on Russia.
Zelensky chose 43-year-old Mykhailo Dropatoy over 60-year-old Syrsky, in the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s military leadership since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“It is important that all components of our military continue to operate in full coordination,” the president said on X on Wednesday (around 7:30 p.m. AEDT).
Former commander-in-chief of Ukraine Alexander Sirsky.Press service of the President of Ukraine, AP reports
The new military head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mikhail Drapaty.The press service of the President of Ukraine reports AP
Fedorov was seen as a reformer who advocated a “drone first” approach to war, relying on innovation and technology to minimize the deaths and casualties of Ukrainian volunteers at the front, raising concerns about his sudden ouster.
Drapatoy’s elevation to the top military post has been welcomed by some observers, given his experience of active campaigns against Russian forces.
In a video widely shared on social media, Ukrainians hailed Drapatoy as the tank commander who broke through enemy fortifications in Mariupol in 2014, a symbolic moment at the start of the war against Russian forces.
Drapaty said his plans include new operations behind enemy lines.
“The President of Ukraine set clear tasks for us: to continue and intensify offensive operations in all directions, plan new operations behind enemy lines, develop our army and its technologies, increase the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he wrote on Facebook.
Wildberry head Tatyana Kim confirmed on Wednesday (Russian time) that warehouses in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk were attacked. Social media footage reviewed by Reuters showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the air in Krasnodar.
Local authorities said a worker was killed in another southern city, Armavir, when drone debris fell on a business.
Residents walk among the rubble of a Russian missile strike on Kyiv on Sunday.AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratyev said that 10 people were injured as a result of the attack on the warehouse complex. Drone debris damaged two high-rise buildings in Krasnodar, where no one was injured.
Authorities said a helicopter will be used to extinguish the fire at a warehouse in Krasnodar. More than a hundred people took part in extinguishing the fire.
The Ukrainian drone strike on Saturday killed eight workers, sparked fires and disrupted operations at Wildberry.
“There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on all of us who are simply doing our jobs,” Kim said in a message on the Telegram messaging app.
Wildberry began as an online store reselling clothing from European catalogs. Since then, the company has expanded its product offerings and evolved into a marketplace that includes third-party suppliers. They did not comment on the extent of the damage.
Russia is no longer willing to return some occupied territories to Ukraine as part of any deal to end the war and plans to keep them as buffer zones, according to people close to the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin remains committed to taking full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region by force and will now keep areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions near the Russian border as buffer zones, said three people, who asked not to be named discussing sensitive issues.
Putin abandoned the territorial concessions because Russia viewed increasingly confrontational US statements as evidence that informal agreements reached at the Alaska summit with US President Donald Trump had collapsed, the people said.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian infrastructure, including oil refineries, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called “long-term sanctions.”X
In collaboration with Reuters, Bloomberg
Receive a note directly from our overseas correspondents about what makes headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
Save
You have reached the maximum number of items saved.
Remove items from the saved list to add new ones.
David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or e-mail.