Zelenskyy discusses diplomacy with US envoys amid expanded Ukrainian attacks on Russian economy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Wednesday in an attempt to revive the prospects of a diplomatic end to Russia's invasion.

"I just spoke with President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner," Zelenskyy said on X. "It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer. Peace is needed — peace with dignity, and Ukraine has long been ready for it."

The discussion came after Ukrainian attacks on Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer. The company said Wednesday that several people were injured in Ukrainian attacks on the company's warehouses.

Vladimir Kondratyev, the governor of southern Krasnodar said one person was killed in Wednesday's Ukraine strikes, but did not clarify whether that was the strikes at Wildberries or elsewhere.

What do we know about the latest Ukrainian attack on Wildberries?

Wildberries co-founder and CEO Tatyana Kim said facilities in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk were targeted in Wednesday's attacks.

Social media footage showed smoke billowing above the Krasnodar logistics site, which Kim said had been evacuated along with a facility in Nevinnomyssk.

Zelenskyy addressed the attacks on X, without naming Wildberries.

"Today, Ukraine's long-range sanctions successfully struck important targets in Russia's Krasnodar and Stavropol regions – logistics hubs involved in supplying the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment, and other gear – as well as another oil depot," Zelenskyy wrote.

Wednesday's attacks follow the deaths of eight employees in strikes that destroyed Wildberries facilities on Saturday.

"There are no ⁠words ​to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by ​the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on all of us who are simply doing our ​jobs," Kim said in a ‌post on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine expands defense to target Russia's civilian economy

Wildberries, often called the Amazon of Russia, is a key component of the country's civilian economy. Kyiv also accuses it of providing military logistics and shipping for the country's military.

Online sales in Russia totaled 11.5 trillion Rubles ($147 billion, €129 billion) in 2025 according to the country's Association of Internet Trade Companies, a 28% increase over 2024.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said sales of goods and services on digital platforms equated to around 8.5% of GDP.

Wednesday's strikes represent a widening trend of Ukrainian attacks deep within Russia as Moscow continues to target civilian infrastructure in the invasion it launched against neighboring Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Beyond its expanded attacks on Russia's civilian economy, the commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces announced that Kyiv's military had also struck 13 Russian vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov over the past 48 hours.