Fire burns for hours at Ozon logistics center after St. Petersburg drone attack
Ozon said workers were safely evacuated after a drone attack ignited one of its logistics centers during a wider assault on St. Petersburg.
The Lead
A fire burned for hours at an Ozon logistics center in St. Petersburg on October 18 after a drone attack, forcing the Russian e-commerce company to evacuate employees and reroute operations.
Key Facts
- Ozon said no employees were injured and emergency crews responded to the October 18 fire.
- The retailer removed goods stored at the affected center from sale and said orders that could not be fulfilled elsewhere would be canceled.
- Local reporting said a helicopter repeatedly dropped water on the building; by early afternoon, visible flames had subsided but smoke remained.
Article Body
Ozon confirmed that one of its logistics facilities was struck overnight and caught fire. The company said all workers were evacuated without injury and that emergency services were operating at the site.
Video published by OSINTtechnical later on October 18 showed a large fire and heavy smoke. A local report at 13:43 said crews were still fighting the blaze with a helicopter, although the fire’s intensity had decreased and open flames were no longer visible. The available reporting does not establish the fire’s final extent or when it was fully extinguished.
The Ozon facility was among several sites affected during a wider Ukrainian drone assault on St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region. Ozon said it would redirect logistics through other centers, hide goods held at the damaged site from its marketplace and cancel orders it could not supply from elsewhere.
The next consequential question is whether damage assessments show a prolonged reduction in the center’s capacity or only a temporary interruption that Ozon’s wider network can absorb.
What to Watch
The key signal is Ozon’s decision to remove stored goods from sale and redistribute logistics routes, indicating operational disruption beyond the fire response.
Sources & Notes
- Ozon logistics center catches fire during drone attack
- Ozon warehouse fire after drone attack
- Ukraine launches more than 1,000 drones at Russia
- Helicopter deployed against Ozon warehouse fire
- @Osinttechnical: Russia’s St. Petersburg Ozon e-commerce distribution center continued to burn out of control today after an overnight Ukrainian drone strike.