In Volgograd, Russia, on the night of 31 July, drones attacked the Wildberries logistics centre in the Dzerzhinsky district. A major fire broke out on the premises of the warehouse complex, the company confirmed. The receipt of deliveries has been suspended, whilst order dispatch and deliveries have been redirected to other sites within the network.
Briefly about the main points
- Wildberries has confirmed a drone attack on its warehouse in Volgograd.
- A major fire broke out on the premises of the logistics complex.
- According to the company’s preliminary information, no warehouse staff were injured.
- The receipt of goods has been suspended, and the flows have been redirected to other sites.
- That same night, a fire broke out at a fuel and energy complex facility.
Operations at the Volgograd depot have been temporarily suspended
Wildberries’ press office stated that a fire broke out following the attack on the logistics facility. Fire crews were at the scene.
A warning has appeared in the partner app regarding the suspension of operations at the «Volgograd» warehouse. Suppliers have been informed that the facility in the Dzerzhinsky District is temporarily not accepting goods.
According to preliminary information from the company, no staff were injured. The receipt of deliveries and dispatch of orders have been redirected to other facilities Wildberries.
The fire broke out in a complex covering an area of around 44,000 square metres
The total area of Wildberries’ logistics complex in Volgograd is around 44,000 square metres. Footage released by local residents shows intense flames and a large plume of black smoke rising above the warehouse site.
The extent of the fire and the scale of the damage have not yet been determined. These figures will determine how quickly the company will be able to resume operations at the site and what additional workload other logistics hubs will have to bear.
This blow comes on top of previous losses to the logistics network
Governor of the Volgograd Region Andriy Bocharov confirmed the night-time drone attack. According to him, fires were also reported at an industrial facility belonging to the fuel and energy sector in the south of the city. This is a separate incident from the fire at the Wildberries warehouse.
During the second half of July, fires and operational disruptions affected logistics facilities Wildberries in several regions of Russia. The Associated Press reported on 30 July that, in less than two weeks, UAVs had struck 14 of the retailer’s warehouses. Reuters had previously reported, citing an analysis by Kommersant, that around 552,000 square metres of logistics space had been damaged — approximately 10% of the chain’s total at that time.
The re-routing of shipments from Volgograd follows the pattern the company has already adopted following previous attacks. The build-up of temporarily unavailable sites may increase the pressure on neighbouring warehouses and make it more difficult to accommodate new consignments.
