Ukrainian drone strikes on Wildberries warehouses inflict huge losses on Russian businesses

Ukrainian drones have struck several warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, in recent days, dealing a blow to hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses that depend on the platform.

After months of targeting oil depots and refineries, Kyiv says it is now focusing on logistics hubs used by Russia to purchase military equipment and disrupt supplies to its army. But the attacks have also frustrated Russian sellers who rely on online marketplaces for their income, bringing the war closer to home after nearly four and a half years.

In the first attack over the weekend, two warehouses were hit: one in Elektrostal east of Moscow, and another in Kotovsk in the Tambov region, about 400 km from the Ukrainian border. Seven workers on a night shift were killed in Kotovsk, and one was fatally wounded in Elektrostal. Dozens more were injured, and goods estimated at £750 million ($1 billion) were destroyed.

Kyiv said it had struck “major logistics facilities” used to “supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.” Unlike Western giant Amazon, Wildberries and Ozon operate almost entirely as marketplaces, connecting independent sellers with buyers, storing and delivering goods, and handling payments. This means most losses from the attacks are borne by the businesses themselves.

One woman who sells stationery items complained on social media that after delivering her goods to the Elektrostal warehouse on Friday, everything went up in flames. She still has other inventory, but this time of year is crucial as parents and students stock up for the new school term. Another Wildberries seller, dealing in teenage clothing, lost about 1.4 million roubles (£13,300) worth of stock and is halting new supplies for several weeks. “The outlook for working with Wildberries is very murky,” she told the BBC.

Neither woman expects compensation. Less than two weeks before the attacks, a clause was added to their contracts including drone attacks in the list of “force majeure events” for which Wildberries is not liable. Company owner Tatiana Kim has promised “not to abandon” sellers, offering temporary discounts and waiving shipment fees, but this has done little to ease fears of further strikes.

Supporting small and medium businesses has been a declared priority for Vladimir Putin even during wartime, presenting them as a backbone of resilience against Western sanctions. However, the Russian state has been unable to shield the sector from the war's impact. Since the start of the year, VAT rose from 20% to 22% in January, with extra funds earmarked for defense, and some tax breaks were scrapped. In the first quarter of 2026, 209,000 small and medium companies closed – 9% more than in the first three months of 2025.

Widespread internet shutdowns and bans on popular messaging apps caused further problems, and Moscow businesses lost tens of millions of dollars in one week in March. Then came the fuel crisis triggered by Ukrainian strikes on oil depots, refineries, and supply routes. “There are already a lot of nails, and they keep hammering them in. Is [the attack on Wildberries warehouses] another nail in the coffin? Well, yes, of course,” Professor Ruben Eniklopov of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona told the BBC.

Small businesses in Russia have proven resilient in the past, but inflation is high, the budget deficit is widening, and oil and gas revenues are 23% lower than in the first six months of last year. Russia has vast financial reserves accumulated in peacetime, but its war in Ukraine is increasingly consuming resources, starving the civilian economy of growth.