Ad Spending on Wildberries Nosedives After Ukrainian Drone Attacks, Kommersant Reports
A source told Kommersant that many advertisers had either frozen their promotional budgets or sharply cut back across major retail categories.
Advertisers are drastically reducing their ad spending on Wildberries following Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses, according to a report by Kommersant business newspaper. Digital Budget, a tracking firm, revealed a 63% drop in ad spending on Wildberries from June to July. Many advertisers have either halted or significantly reduced their promotional budgets across key retail sectors such as electronics, appliances, and pharmaceuticals, Reuters reported.
Wildberries acknowledged a decline in ad activity but claimed the extent of the drop was overstated, stating that sellers are adjusting their economic models amid the current challenges. Analysts predict the ad slump on Wildberries could persist for two to six months as the company works to restore its damaged infrastructure and supply chains.
Russia's largest e-commerce platforms saw a 58% increase in ad revenue to 580 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2025, constituting over a third of the country's digital advertising market. Wildberries and its main rival, Ozon, were among the top 10 largest advertisers in Russia in 2025, spending 7.8 billion rubles ($94 million) and 9.7 billion rubles ($117 million) respectively.
Since mid-July, Ukraine has launched drone attacks on nearly two dozen of Wildberries' logistics centers, alleging that the company supplies the Russian military with drone parts and other equipment. Both Wildberries and the Russian government deny these claims. The targeted strikes have severely impacted Wildberries' storage capacity and caused significant financial losses for third-party merchants, Forbes Russia noted.
Wildberries launched an advertising push in Russia with the slogan "support entrepreneurs with an order" in response to the attacks. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has labeled The Moscow Times, a news outlet, as an "undesirable organization," complicating its operations and risking legal repercussions for its staff.
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