Ukraine Is Stepping Up Attacks Inside Russia. Putin Could Now Seize ‘Critical Infrastructure.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the government to take control of "critical infrastructure" across the country as Ukraine steps up attacks inside its territory.

Concretely, authorities will be able to take over the infrastructure if private owners fail to protect it. The decree includes key sectors like fuel and energy, communications, transport and logistics facilities. Should Moscow implement "temporary administration," they would control the property, property rights and shares.

"Quite often the owners of enterprises do not pay proper attention to taking measures to ensure security, anti-drone security," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov when addressing the issue. "Wherever security measures are not being taken in critical areas, corresponding proposals will be submitted," he added.

Parts of Russia and Russia-controlled Crimea have experienced fuel shortages over the past months as Kyiv ramped up attacks against oil infrastructure.

Ukraine has also been targeting Wildberries, the Russian version of Amazon, and now the second-largest online retailer, Ozon.

The company confirmed on social media that its logistics center in the Samara region had been hit.

"The attack caused a fire in the warehouse. All systems operated normally, and we evacuated over 500 employees within minutes. Unfortunately, there are still some casualties. We will provide them with all necessary support," the company stated.

The attack did disrupt operations, requiring some items to become unavailable.

"We have removed the products stored in the warehouse from our marketplace; they are currently unavailable for ordering. Orders shipped from this warehouse will be canceled, and customers will receive refunds," the company stated.

Ukraine has justified its attacks on Wildberries and now Ozon as part of its fight against Russian aggression. Ukraine has said the companies help keep the Russian military supplied, and attacking them is part of their strategy to hinder Russia's invasion. Also, Ukraine has increasingly sought to take the war to Russia, including disrupting its economy.

"Systematic strikes on storage centers holding dual-use goods are disrupting the enemy's logistics and negatively impacting Russia's economy as a whole," Ukraine Defense Forces stated. "After Ukrainian units hit 15 of Wildberries' largest logistics hubs, it's now Ozon's turn. Our long-range sanctions are working — both spectacularly and effectively."

According to CNBC, the total number of Ozon facilities targeted by Ukraine has climbed to six in the last three days, including the attack in the Samara region.

The network reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine has opened "Pandora's box" by attacking Russian economic targets. He promised Russian retaliatory strikes targeting Ukraine's economic targets.