What is Wildberries? ‘Russia’s Amazon’ in the spotlight as Ukraine targets e-commerce giant’s warehouses

Wildberries, Russia's leading e-commerce platform, has recently come under heavy attack from Ukraine, drawing comparisons to Amazon. Founded in 2004 by Tatyana Kim, the 28-year-old founder, Wildberries operates a hybrid model, selling goods directly to customers while also serving as a marketplace for third-party sellers. The company boasts tens of thousands of pickup points across Russia and offers a wide range of products, from clothing and beauty items to electronics and digital services.

Since mid-July, Ukraine has targeted at least 23 Wildberries facilities, resulting in the death of nine workers and the destruction of approximately $5.9 billion worth of goods. The attacks have also reduced the company's warehouse space by about a third. While Wildberries claims it prohibits the sale of weapons on its platform, third-party sellers have reported losses as well.

Ukraine's stated reason for targeting Wildberries is that the company sells military-related goods, including drone spare parts, which are used by the Russian military in its airstrikes against Ukraine. Despite this rationale, the attacks have disrupted not only the e-commerce giant but also its customers, who account for about 10% of all retail sales in Russia.

This disruption could lead to discontent among Russians and potentially put political pressure on President Vladimir Putin to consider an exit strategy from the conflict.

The Wildberries attacks highlight a concerning trend in the 21st century, where private companies are becoming direct targets of military aggression. Earlier this year, Iran struck Amazon-owned data centers in the United Arab Emirates, where Amazon Web Services (AWS) was housed, likely due to the belief that Amazon's compute was supporting U.S. military operations in the region.