Key facts
- Ukraine has been conducting drone attacks on Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, for over a month.
- The strikes have targeted large depots, causing billions of dollars in merchandise losses and significant damage to warehouse infrastructure.
- These attacks are intended to disrupt Russia's economy, impact public morale, and potentially affect military supply chains.
- Wildberries, an e-commerce giant accounting for about half of Russia's online orders, serves hundreds of thousands of sellers.
- The company has faced challenges repaying massive loans, potentially stressing the Russian financial system.
Ukraine has expanded its drone strike strategy inside Russia to target the warehouses of Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer, aiming to disrupt its economy and morale. These attacks, which began in July and have continued for over a month, have hit approximately 20 facilities across Russia, causing billions of dollars in merchandise losses and significant damage to infrastructure.
The strikes are designed to impact the broad Russian public, shake the empire of founder Tatyana Kim, and potentially strain the financial system due to Wildberries' substantial loans from banks like VTB and Sberbank. Wildberries, which accounts for about half of Russia's online orders and serves an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 sellers, has been a key player in e-commerce, especially after Western brands departed following the invasion of Ukraine.
Experts note that Wildberries' large, centralized warehouses, some as big as 300,000 square meters, are relatively unprotected and easy targets for drones. Some estimates suggest up to 20% of the company's warehouse space may have been destroyed, with losses potentially reaching $6 billion. While Wildberries claims to have reinforced its defenses and is exploring alternative supply chain strategies, the attacks have continued.
Ukrainian officials have stated that the attacks aim to disrupt military supplies, as Wildberries is alleged to sell gear and components, including drones, to the military. The strikes further exacerbate existing economic pressures on Russian small and medium businesses, which have already faced tax increases, regulatory hurdles, and fuel crises.