According to official data, 7 night shift workers died in Kotovsk, 25 people were injured, and in Elektrostal – 61 injured, one person died in the hospital.
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“A crater, as if after a nuclear explosion”
To the news portal “Laisvės radijas,” Kotovsk city resident Oksana (name changed for security reasons) said that around two o’clock at night, sounds of shooting echoed in the district.
“I wasn’t sleeping, so I immediately ran out of the house with my child. But where to run? Around – only similar cottage communities. There are no shelters or basements to hide in. We ran to a neighbor – at least he has a basement,” the woman said.
Oksana recalled that around midnight she heard sounds similar to drone buzzing.
“It buzzed again at dusk, around eleven o’clock, then again around midnight. There were no explosions then. But I was already anxious because of news about other attacks. After all, in June, the Platonovsk oil base in the Raskazovsky district was attacked. No one died there, but it was still unsettling. My son couldn’t fall asleep. When the first explosion sounded, we were among the first to run out into the street. After other explosions, a crater appeared – like in a horror movie. As if after a nuclear explosion,” the woman worried.
On Saturday evening, the Telegram channel “Tverdyj znak Tambov” reported that 55 bodies were pulled from the rubble of the Wildberries warehouse in Kotovsk.
“In short, we went there because my sister started calling me. The barrier was raised. When we arrived, the entire parking lot was covered with debris, and bodies lay on it. There were more than ten bodies there, and blood pools were visible. Also, people shouted that not everyone managed to leave the blocks.
The number of dead and injured is much higher than seven. We alone took four people away by car,” said one witness, but after a while, the local Ministry of Health denied this report.
The head of the Tambov region, Yevgeny Pervyshov, confirmed on Saturday morning that 7 Wildberries employees working the night shift died in the warehouse strike. Another 25 people were injured, 23 of whom were hospitalized.
“The drones that struck the Wildberries warehouse were equipped with weapons designed to cause as many casualties as possible. This was a planned terrorist act against civilians,” said the Russian aggressor’s governor.
“Died for pennies”
The injured ended up in the hospital. One of them was in very serious condition. Most of the victims had shrapnel wounds.
As Oksana said, three women and four men died. According to her, they were paid 300 rubles more for the night shift: instead of 1600, they received 1900 (about 21 euros).
“That’s how they died for pennies. My friend who works there said the corridors are so packed with shelves that you can’t run out quickly. Especially if everything collapses after an explosion,” the woman said.
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Some Wildberries warehouse employees in Elektrostal were not allowed out of the buildings during the fire after the drone attack, writes the publication “Post,” citing the sister of one of the injured employees.
“My brother was on shift today, he’s been working there for only a week. He was shocked, hasn’t recovered yet, now we are giving him sedatives. He was held back by some senior employee. The warehouse was burning, they already heard that blocks 4 and 6 were completely burned, and she said: ‘Calm down, don’t panic’ – and didn’t let anyone leave, even though the attack was happening. The employees themselves opened the doors – those meant for loading and unloading goods, and jumped out there. That’s block 7. They opened the doors themselves and escaped,” said the injured person’s sister.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, without directly mentioning Wildberries, confirmed strikes on two large logistics facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions.
“Today, our long-range strikes hit three targets on Russian territory, as well as on our temporarily occupied land and sea. First of all, in response to Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure, cities, and regions, two significant logistics facilities were destroyed – in the Moscow and Tambov regions, located respectively more than 500 and about 700 km from the front line.
The aggressor used them to supply parts subject to sanctions, intended for drone and navigation equipment production. An oil facility was also struck,” wrote the Ukrainian president on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
The attacks on Wildberries were also commented on by the head of the Ukrainian drone forces, Robert Brovdi: “This is not about a 100 billion worth fire. This is about an illusion of a full and peaceful life destroyed in a second.”
“Impossible to live or do business”
Representatives of Wildberries also commented on the strikes on logistics complexes in Kotovsk and Elektrostal. The founder of the trading platform and RWB head Tatiana Kim wrote on her Telegram channel in the morning: “A terrible night, terrible events for our company and our country. This is a pain that cannot be described in words.”
Nothing was said about what will happen to the company’s partners who lost goods worth tens of millions of rubles.
Meanwhile, messages from entrepreneurs began to appear on social networks, estimating their losses in tens of millions of rubles. Additional outrage was caused by the trading platform’s terms of cooperation with sellers, which were updated shortly before the attack.
From July 7, Wildberries’ offer clearly states that the company is not responsible for the loss of goods due to the use or fall of weapons and military equipment, including drones, as well as due to shootings and explosions.
“In Elektrostal, since it is the largest warehouse, I had goods worth more than 50 million rubles, and in Kotovsk – worth 2.5 million,” said entrepreneur Timofey from Saint Petersburg. “As soon as I received photos of the burning warehouse and confirmation that everything there was destroyed, I studied the offer. It says there that in case of force majeure, no payments or compensation are made to sellers. Where do I go from here? Personally, I am heading for bankruptcy. Of the 53 million, goods worth about 20 million were bought on credit. Wildberries changed the offer terms shortly before – as if they knew something. Now the company washes its hands.”
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