Ukrainian drones strike ‘Russian Amazon’: billions in losses for Wildberries sellers

©Oleg Podlesnykh via Unsplash

Ukrainian drone attacks are increasingly targeting warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce player, which is often referred to as the “Russian Amazon.” Since mid-July, about twenty locations have been hit, including 10 of the 26 largest warehouses, resulting in fires, evacuations, and massive inventory losses.

Kyiv claims that Wildberries has become a logistics channel for military supplies (ranging from bulletproof vests to drone parts) and is therefore a legitimate target.

The impact is significant: Wildberries processes more than half of all online orders in Russia, employs nearly 50,000 people, and operates about 200 warehouses. Due to the attacks, hundreds of thousands of sellers (including those from China and Kazakhstan) are suffering losses amounting to billions. CEO Tatyana Kim says that, due to force majeure, Wildberries will not provide compensation to sellers and refers them to government aid that has yet to be finalized. In early July, the company amended its terms and conditions to exclude liability for war damage and is offering sellers only limited support in the form of discounts, relocations, or payment deferrals.

Wildberries is trying to strengthen its supply chain by expanding its storage capacity in Kazakhstan, but this is being hampered by a lack of available space. In Russia itself, it is trying to distribute inventory to smaller, regional centers. At the same time, fears are growing: more and more property owners are refusing to rent out warehouse space, and large retail chains such as Magnit and X5 are shifting logistical risks onto suppliers.

Experts warn that this shift is driving up costs and exacerbating inflation in Russian stores—an additional burden on the already vulnerable Russian economy.

Picture: © Oleg Podlesnykh via Unsplash - Illustrative image