Main points
- For the second time in a month, Russian forces launched a missile strike on a warehouse of the Varus supermarket chain in Dnipro, resulting in the deaths of people.
- Varus has warned of possible delays in product deliveries due to the destruction of the warehouse, but continues to work on the stability of operational processes.
Russia strikes Varus warehouse in Dnipro for the second time in a month / Collage by Channel 24, illustrative photos News.LIVE, State Emergency Service
For the second time in the past month, Russian forces have struck a warehouse of the Varus supermarket chain in Dnipro. The attack resulted in the deaths of people.
What is known about the attack on Varus in Dnipro?
The missile hit the company's warehouse, the chain's co-owner Ruslan Shostak said.
He emphasized that this is the second attack on the Varus warehouse in the last month.
People died. Again. I won't write anything about the losses – human lives cannot be compared with material losses,
– wrote Shostak.
Despite the new attack, the company said that it continues to work on the stability of supply and operational processes. According to the co-owner of the network, the Varus team is doing everything possible to ensure that customers and partners do not feel the consequences of the latest attacks.
The aftermath of the attack / photo by Ruslan Shostak
In this regard, the company has announced possible delays in the delivery of products to consumers. In particular, it is worth considering:
- Disruption of logistics chains due to destruction of the warehouse;
- Temporary complication of the process of distributing goods;
- Increased delivery time to VARUS retail outlets.
No other details regarding the number of dead, injured, or the extent of the damage have been reported at this time.
What does this mean?
- Russian attacks are increasingly directed against civilian business infrastructure.
- Logistics, retail, and supply chains are all under attack.
- Businesses are forced to invest more resources in backup logistics and security.
- Repeated strikes on the same object indicate the systemic nature of the attacks.
Note! The repeated strike on the Varus warehouse in Dnipro shows that Russian attacks are increasingly affecting not only energy or industry, but also trade infrastructure. Despite the losses and destruction, Ukrainian businesses are trying to keep networks and supplies running.
What is known about the shelling of the Dnipro on May 20 and its consequences?
The Russians launched a combined attack on the Dnieper River on the night of May 20, using drones and ballistic weapons . The first explosions in the city occurred around midnight, preceded by an Air Force warning of a ballistic threat.
Two people were killed and six others were injured as a result of the shelling. Medics hospitalized 5 people. The condition of 3 of them is assessed as serious.
The victims are a 42-year-old woman and men aged 47 and 25. Two men, aged 47 and 40, are hospitalized in moderate condition. The 27-year-old man will be treated as an outpatient.
Why did Russia sharply intensify its attacks on the Dnieper?
In recent weeks, the Dnipro has been under almost continuous Russian attacks. The Russian Federation has been using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, and residential areas, high-rise buildings, and civilian infrastructure are increasingly being hit, writes “Suspilne”.
Oleksiy Bezugliy, spokesman for the Raid Unmanned Systems Forces Regiment, explains that the Dnieper is of strategic importance for Ukrainian logistics and military infrastructure.
Alexey Bezugliy
Spokesperson for the Raid Unmanned Systems Forces Regiment
The units that were stationed on the Pokrovsk, Konstantinovka, Hulyaipole lines are all slowly rolling back. Accordingly, the concentration of troops in the Dnieper has increased. The second is a large logistics hub. Railway, transport, storage, and so on. Therefore, of course, for the enemy, the Dnieper is one of the priority targets.
Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Serhiy Beskrestnov, also known as “Flash”, reported that Russia has begun to actively use the new mesh modem technology to control the “Shaheds” during attacks on the Dnieper.
According to him, drones can transmit signals to each other in the air, forming a control network. This allows:
- increase the control range of UAVs;
- conduct real-time reconnaissance;
- adjust strikes on targets in the rear.
Why is Russia attacking Ukraine's civilian infrastructure?
Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine's civilian infrastructure to influence not only the economy, but also the psychological state of society. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with students and teachers of the Kyiv Aviation Institute, the Office of the President writes.
The President explained that the attacks on the energy system have a clear goal – to weaken Ukraine through the civilian population.
What is the goal of attacking Ukrainian energy? What do you think? To break us. They can't break the military – they hit deep, they break the civilian, because there are much more civilians than military,
– said Zelensky.
After shelling, according to the president, civilians often turn to their loved ones at the front and talk about difficult living conditions. This creates additional psychological pressure on both the military and the civilian population.
Zelensky stressed that the attacks also have an economic goal – to weaken the country's financial system.
Enterprises are not working, there is no energy, no electricity, the economy is not being filled with taxes, there is nothing to pay the military. That is, to break the army, you need to break the civilians. So that there is chaos in civil society, so that there is division. The number one task is to separate the military and civilians,
– the president emphasized.
It is also known that Russia is intensively shelling Ukrainian civilians because Putin is counting on time for negotiations and believes that Trump will not pay attention to it. At the same time, President Zelensky is trying to convince partners to significantly increase support for Ukraine and implement sanctions against Russian logistics.
Advisor to the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak explained to Channel 24 that the American president needs a realistic, rather than aggressive, communication policy that will allow him to weaken Russian capabilities.
Expert name
Advisor to the President's Office
When Trump says that Putin wants peace and negotiations will solve everything, it reminds him of his statements about the Middle East – nothing has been solved there. Yesterday we saw a concrete manifestation of “Russian peace” – it is based on mass murder. In addition, Putin expects that he has time to “genocide” the Ukrainian population.
What is known about the past attack on the Varus warehouse?
In early May, the Russian army struck a distribution center of the VARUS supermarket chain in Dnipro. The dead were company employees who worked on deliveries, VARUS reported.
The enemy strike on 05.05 took the lives of people who were responsible for delivering food to their homes every day. This is an irreparable loss. We bow our heads in grief together with the families of the deceased,
– the company noted.
What other businesses have suffered due to Russian shelling?
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In Kharkiv, Russian drones attacked Nova Poshta depot No. 6 three times, causing a fire and damage to cargo. The company changed logistics routes and promised to compensate customers for losses.
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On May 18, a Russian drone attack damaged the Kernel grain elevator complex in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, resulting in the loss of grain. The attack damaged grain storage tanks, but no employees were injured.