(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukraine’s Defence Forces used long range FP-1 drones to strike the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery and a logistics hub belonging to Russian marketplace Ozon in the Samara region overnight, according to Ukrainian drone manufacturer Fire Point.
The company confirmed the strikes in a statement: “Two different targets, one result: pressure on Russia’s fuel and logistics infrastructure.”
The Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery is one of the largest in the region, with a capacity of approximately 8.3 million tonnes of oil per year. The facility is part of Rosneft’s structure and produces petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other petroleum products.
The Ozon logistics hub in Chapayevsk is one of the company’s largest fulfilment centres in the Volga region. Its total area, once all phases are complete, will be approximately 135,000 square metres, with capacity exceeding 40 million items. The hub processes more than 215,000 orders daily.
Fire Point co-owner and chief designer Denis Shtilerman commented on the strikes with a play on words, writing “Ozon/Kobzon” in a joking reference to the late Russian singer Iosif Kobzon.
The strikes follow a series of Ukrainian attacks on Russian logistics infrastructure. Ukraine’s Defence Forces have put most of the large logistics centres of Russian marketplace Wildberries out of operation. One of the latest targets was the company’s hub in the Koledino industrial park, Wildberries’ largest warehouse by area at 250,000 square metres.
According to analysts, Wildberries’ direct losses alone could exceed 100 billion roubles (£930 million / $1.24 billion), and in the worst case scenario 200 billion roubles (£1.86 billion / $2.45 billion). The company lost approximately 20 percent of its warehouse capacity within a few weeks.
Due to the departure of sellers, many of whom lost their businesses and goods worth hundreds of billions of roubles, Wildberries’ turnover has already fallen by a quarter.
The Bell reports that Wildberries’ total funding needs may reach 1.3 trillion roubles (£12.1 billion / $16.36 billion). The company will have to increase its debt by at least that amount. The marketplace has requested state assistance, but funding levels remain unclear as the federal budget deficit has already reached 5.7 trillion roubles (£53 billion / $71.7 billion), 1.5 times higher than the plan for the entire year.
Fire Point CEO and CTO Iryna Terekh stated that Ukraine is capable of exerting a tangible asymmetric influence on the enemy through long range strikes. In an interview with CBS News, she noted that 60 percent of drones striking targets on Russian territory, including Wildberries warehouses, are produced by Fire Point.
“I do not feel like a victim in this situation. We feel that we can deliver a very asymmetric response with limited resources, while simultaneously having a real impact,” Terekh said.
She added that Fire Point is developing a ballistic weapon expected to strike Russian territory as early as this year. “The only language they understand is the language of force,” Terekh emphasised.
The strikes on Wildberries have created significant pressure on Russia’s banking sector. State owned VTB bank, which has long cooperated with the marketplace, is likely to act as the lender. Shtilerman noted that Wildberries is one of the largest corporate borrowers in Russia.
“VTB’s situation was already not very good, and now trillions of roubles in loans will turn out to be irretrievably lost. And this could bring down Russia’s second largest bank,” Shtilerman said.
Economist Vitaliy Shapran confirmed the close cooperation between the bank and the marketplace. “VTB planned to close the hole in its balance sheet at Wildberries’ expense, while Wildberries used the services of insurers controlled by VTB. The attack on Wildberries disrupted VTB’s current plans,” he said.
VTB has already reported worsening results, with net profit for the first half of the year nearly 20 percent below forecast. The bank has begun restricting depositors’ access to their money, a measure Shapran described as potentially long term.
The Russian economy has suffered a significant blow from strikes on oil refining facilities, with the domestic fuel consumption deficit reaching 35 percent. The financial sector is now also beginning to falter.
“The Kremlin has no stabilisation tools other than agreements with Iran and the Houthis to destabilise the Middle East in order to drive up oil prices,” Shapran said. “The current economic crisis in the Russian Federation has gone very far.”
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