(CHAPAYEVSK, SAMARA OBLAST, RUSSIA) – A major logistics hub belonging to Russian marketplace Ozon caught fire following a drone strike in Chapayevsk, Samara Oblast, forcing the evacuation of workers and the suspension of operations at one of the company’s largest fulfilment centres in the Volga region.
The attack comes at a particularly damaging moment for Ozon. As Wildberries, its main competitor, struggled with a series of warehouse fires caused by previous Ukrainian strikes, a significant shift in market share was underway.
According to Russian media outlet Fontanka, just two days before the strike, 175 companies trading on both platforms had reported declining sales on Wildberries and rising orders on Ozon. The trend suggested that Ozon was absorbing market share from its wounded competitor, with sellers increasingly viewing it as the safer platform.
That assumption has now been shattered. Russia’s second largest marketplace is burning, and the sellers who had migrated from Wildberries to Ozon face urgent questions about where to move their goods and who will compensate them for their losses.
Footage from the scene shows thick black smoke and large flames rising from the logistics centre. Eyewitnesses described the moment of impact, with one video showing a drone striking the facility directly.
The Ozon hub in Chapayevsk covers approximately 135,000 square metres and can store more than 40 million items while processing over 215,000 orders daily. The facility is one of the company’s largest in the Volga region.
The attack follows a pattern of Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics infrastructure, targeting facilities that support the Russian economy and, by extension, the war effort against Ukraine. Wildberries was hit first, and now its competitor has suffered the same fate.
Footage of the strike was shared widely on social media. The attack was confirmed by multiple Russian and Ukrainian sources.
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