Putin orders rebuilding of Russian logistics facilities hit by Ukrainian strikes, downplays damage as not 'critical'

Speaking at a meeting of Russia's Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, President Vladimir Putin said the country's logistics and warehousing capacity, damaged by Ukrainian attacks, must be rebuilt, with state involvement playing a role in the effort. He directed the government to adopt a formal program for restoring national logistics infrastructure.

Putin stressed that reconstruction should not simply restore facilities to their previous state, but bring them to a qualitatively higher technological level.

Economic toll acknowledged

The Russian leader acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes on industrial and infrastructure sites are harming the country's economy. While insisting that the consequences of such attacks are not and cannot be critical, he admitted the damage is real and that Russian authorities are fully aware of it.

Since July, Ukraine's armed forces have repeatedly targeted logistics centers operated by the online retailer Wildberries. Total losses from these strikes are estimated to run into the hundreds of billions of rubles.