Ukraine struck the Avitek plant in Kirov, a facility that produces surface-to-air missiles for the Tor air defense system, and also attacked two Wildberries warehouses in the St. Petersburg area, according to Russian officials and open-source investigators.
Kirov region governor Alexander Sokolov reported an attack on an enterprise in Kirov on the morning of July 24, saying there were casualties but not specifying how many. He did not name the facility, citing a ban on filming attacks and their aftermath.
The outlet Astra analyzed eyewitness photos and video and concluded that the burning facility is the Vyatka Machine-Building Enterprise Avitek (JSC VMP Avitek) on Oktyabrsky Prospekt, 1A. OSINT analysis by The Insider confirmed the plant was hit. The OSINTtechnical project also reported a fire at Avitek, saying a cruise missile struck one of the buildings.
The Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ wrote that Avitek was hit by a Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile.
According to the War & Sanctions project of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), the plant specializes in producing surface-to-air guided missiles, target missiles, and other military products. The facility is also linked to the production of the Tor air defense system.
Separately, two Wildberries warehouses caught fire overnight: one in the village of Shushary in St. Petersburg (Moskovskoye Shosse, 153) and another in the village of Novosaratovka in the Vsevolozhsky district of the Leningrad region (Utkina Zavod industrial zone, building 4, block 4), Astra reported. At the Utkina Zavod industrial zone, at least three buildings were burning: a Wildberries warehouse, a warehouse of unknown ownership, and a distribution center of the company Petrovich.
Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim confirmed the strikes on the warehouses. She said the company's logistics complex in Simferopol (in annexed Crimea) was also attacked. “Part of the space and goods were saved. I thank our employees, our heroes — an evacuation was carried out promptly at all warehouses… there are no casualties,” she said.
Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said three people were injured in the fire at the Wildberries warehouse in Novosaratovka. According to him, the warehouse was attacked by drones. St. Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov also reported a drone attack on the city: “The strike hit civilian infrastructure facilities on Moskovskoye Shosse.”