Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict four years on.

Ukraine’s campaign of deep strikes against oil refineries, military bases, and logistical targets has brought the war home to Russians. The past week has seen at least a dozen attacks on the warehouses of Wildberries, an e-commerce retailer often described as the Russian Amazon. The opening salvo on the company’s flagship logistics facility near Moscow generated a smoke plume so enormous that it could be seen from space, blackening the skies over much of the metropolitan region. Other strikes set fire to Wildberries logistics hubs in St. Petersburg, Tver, and Simferopol in occupied Crimea. The company’s warehouses in Krasnodar, Tambov, and Voronezh were hit as well, killing several workers.

This is not a strange target for the Ukrainian military, although it might look like one at first. Tens of millions of ordinary Russians use Wildberries just about daily to buy everything from laundry detergent and baby formula to sneakers, dresses, and cheap headphones. The Kremlin hasn’t missed an opportunity to accuse Kyiv of attacking civilian infrastructure and committing a war crime. That is obviously hypocritical, considering that Russia has spent years hitting Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest private delivery company, destroying the company’s terminals and killing at least a dozen employees, three of them as recently as July 19.

Ukraine’s campaign of deep strikes against oil refineries, military bases, and logistical targets has brought the war home to Russians. The past week has seen at least a dozen attacks on the warehouses of Wildberries, an e-commerce retailer often described as the Russian Amazon. The opening salvo on the company’s flagship logistics facility near Moscow generated a smoke plume so enormous that it could be seen from space, blackening the skies over much of the metropolitan region. Other strikes set fire to Wildberries logistics hubs in St. Petersburg, Tver, and Simferopol in occupied Crimea. The company’s warehouses in Krasnodar, Tambov, and Voronezh were hit as well, killing several workers.

This is not a strange target for the Ukrainian military, although it might look like one at first. Tens of millions of ordinary Russians use Wildberries just about daily to buy everything from laundry detergent and baby formula to sneakers, dresses, and cheap headphones. The Kremlin hasn’t missed an opportunity to accuse Kyiv of attacking civilian infrastructure and committing a war crime. That is obviously hypocritical, considering that Russia has spent years hitting Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest private delivery company, destroying the company’s terminals and killing at least a dozen employees, three of........

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