Wildberries: Ukraine hits around a dozen warehouses

Ukraine has hit warehouses of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, around a dozen times since mid-July, killing at least eight people and knocking out a large part of the company’s storage capacity.

Kyiv accuses Wildberries of storing drone parts and helping the Russian army. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the warehouses as “logistics hubs involved in supplying the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment and other gear.”

Wildberries and the Kremlin reject that description. Wildberries chief executive Tatiana Kim accused Kyiv of attacking “ordinary people”.

Ukraine first targeted Wildberries on July 18, hitting a warehouse near Moscow and another in the Tambov region, south of the capital. Since then, strikes have hit warehouses across central and western Russia, from Krasnodar in the south to Sarapul, more than 1,200 kilometres from the front line.

Wildberries has not released damage estimates. Forbes Russia reported that strikes on two warehouses in southern Russia last week could have caused more than $1.5 billion in damage. Other media outlets said the company could have lost up to 10% of its storage capacity.

The company said it had paid about $500,000 in compensation to families of employees killed in the strikes. Wildberries has also reimbursed some small businesses, though some sellers said they still faced losses.

The Kremlin has acknowledged that the government may have to assist Wildberries, but no decision on state aid has been made. The company has launched an advertising campaign in Russia with the tagline: “Support entrepreneurs with an order”.