Star Metro - Ukraine drone attack hits 'Russia's Amazon' warehouse

Kyiv has targeted Saint Petersburg as it steps up long-range drone strikes on Russian energy, military and logistics sites in recent weeks, calling the attacks justified retribution for Moscow's nightly drone and missile barrages of its cities.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces shot down some 571 drones overnight over more than a dozen regions and Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.

In Saint Petersburg, an AFP reporter saw grey smoke rising into the morning sky over high-rise residential buildings in the city, President Vladimir Putin's hometown that is more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The local governor reported that a warehouse for Wildberries -- Russia's largest online retailer often referred to as "Russia's Amazon" -- was on fire after the strike.

"Three people were wounded," Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region said on social media.

It was the third overnight attack by Ukraine on Wildberries' sites in the past week.

Last weekend, eight night-shift workers were killed in attacks on Wildberries sites that saw one of the company's main warehouses outside Moscow burn to the ground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged after the first attack that the facilities were used to "supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment."

Kyiv calls its campaign "long-range sanctions", saying the attacks are justified retribution for Russia's nightly drone and missile barrages of its cities since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

The campaign has triggered nationwide fuel shortages and, Kyiv says, dented Russia's financial war chest.

- 'Escalation' -

Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo airport suspended flights during the attack, resuming operations around 06:00 (0300 GMT), with around 50 departures disrupted.

Wildberries said two of its warehouses in the city had temporarily halted operations, without giving more details.

Both Russia and Ukraine have escalated their long-range strikes in recent months.

Moscow's forces have fired increasing numbers of ballistic missiles at Kyiv -- killing dozens and ripping open apartment blocks.

US President Donald Trump has appeared to give his backing to Ukraine's counter-attacks on Russia -- calling the strikes "an escalation that can lead to an end".

Washington's attempts to mediate a peace deal between the warring sides have largely stalled with its own war on Iran raging.

The United Nations has reported a surge in civilian deaths in 2026, saying June was the deadliest month since mid-2022.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022 -- though there is no precise toll with neither side routinely revealing the number of their losses.

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D.Ch. Nadeau--SMC