Russia Proposes Tax Relief for Wildberries Following Ukrainian Drone Attacks

The Russian government is considering tax relief for Wildberries and its sellers in the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks on the e-commerce platform's warehouses and logistics centers. The proposal, drafted by the Finance Ministry, would defer tax and insurance payments, freeze tax audits, and ease administrative pressure on affected businesses.

The relief measures would be applicable to sellers whose losses exceed 5% of their annual revenue, granting them a 12-month deferral on value-added tax, corporate tax, and other liabilities between August 2026 and July 2027. Following the grace period, affected Wildberries sellers would have a year to pay off the deferred liabilities through monthly installments.

The proposal has been forwarded to Russia's cabinet for final approval by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The relief measures come in response to a series of Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries' infrastructure, with at least 23 facilities targeted and an estimated 480 billion rubles ($5.7 billion) worth of products destroyed or damaged since mid-July.

The strikes have also led to the loss of around one-third of Wildberries' warehouse space. Despite Ukraine's claim that Wildberries is a legitimate target due to the sale of products with potential military use, the company denies supplying Russia's armed forces, stating that weapons and military equipment are prohibited from sale on its platform.

Wildberries accounts for approximately 10% of Russian retail sales and is a significant contributor to the Russian wartime economy.