Russian marketplaces seek hundreds of billions of roubles in aid after drone attacks
The Association of Digital Platforms, representing major Russian e-commerce companies, has asked the government for financial support after drone attacks. Businesses say the requested amount could reach hundreds of billions of roubles.
The Association of Digital Platforms (ADP), which brings together Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex, Avito and Kuper, has sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin proposing a support package for businesses hit by drone attacks. The letter was reported by Vedomosti.
The ADP suggests one-off direct payments from the federal budget to help companies resume normal operations and preserve jobs. The amount should depend on actual damage and the scale of each organisation.
Affected companies are also asking for a six-month deferral or instalment plan for taxes and mandatory contributions, while penalties should be suspended for periods when they were unable to operate normally.
The Moscow Times has learned that the requested aid could amount to hundreds of billions of roubles. Fires at Wildberries warehouses after a series of attacks destroyed goods worth 445–507 billion roubles ($5.2–6 billion). According to the Association of Suppliers of Goods for Trade on Electronic Platforms (APTEP), seller losses are even higher, at 600–700 billion roubles ($7.1–8.3 billion).
Wildberries itself lost about a third of its warehouse capacity. DataInsight estimates its direct losses at 147–223 billion roubles ($1.7–2.6 billion). When dismantling, waste removal and site restoration are included, the figure rises to 278 billion roubles ($3.3 billion).
After the attacks, some Russian marketplaces — including Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex Market, Megamarket and Magnit Market — began changing terms for sellers, no longer taking responsibility for goods lost during UAV attacks.
