Ukraine escalates Wildberries attacks
After sparking a fuel crisis with its attacks on Russian oil refineries, Ukraine has started hitting a new target — warehouses of Russia’s biggest online marketplace, Wildberries.
Over the course of five days, Ukrainian drones launched attacks on seven key logistics sites of Russia's largest online marketplace, Wildberries. These strikes occurred in locations like Elektrostal near Moscow, Tambov, Krasnodar, Nevinnomyssk, Saint Petersburg, Tver, and Simferopol. This marks the first notable assault on Russia's civilian e-commerce infrastructure since the onset of the conflict.
The Ukrainian government maintains that the warehouses were supplying drone components to the military. Consequently, nine warehouse workers have perished, and dozens more have been injured. As a result, Wildberries has suffered a 7-10% reduction in warehouse capacity. Wildberries responded to the first two attacks by revising contracts with sellers, eliminating any financial responsibility for damages caused by any form of weaponry or military equipment.
Estimates place the financial losses for sellers at 150 billion rubles ($1.9 billion), which is considerably higher than the previous projected 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) Wildberries might incur from the warehouse fires. The extent of individual entrepreneurs and small businesses affected remains uncertain, but some suggest that bankruptcy and operational shutdowns are inevitable in the coming months.
Wildberries, which contributes up to 10% of Russia's retail turnover, faces significant consequences. With a 2025 turnover of 6.1 trillion rubles ($79 billion), the marketplace could face substantial financial ramifications. Additionally, the attacks may prompt Wildberries to determine the level of compensation to offer sellers to safeguard its reputation.
Despite the direct losses to its warehouses, Wildberries may also grapple with the need to compensate sellers to maintain its image. Shares in Wildberries' main competitor, Ozon, have plummeted by 10% in response to the attacks, even though Ozon has not been targeted. The overall economic impact appears relatively minor, as Wildberries' logistics are dispersed across the country, and localized warehouse losses are unlikely to trigger widespread inflation.
While the attacks on oil refineries have a broader impact on the Russian economy, the strikes on Wildberries carry a more substantial psychological and political weight due to their presence in everyday life for millions of Russians.
Written by urgent.news from The Bell's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
