Why Ukraine is targeting Russia’s ‘Amazon’ Wildberries with major strikes
Ukraine has hit a major logistics hub of Russian online retailer Wildberries in Yekaterinburg, east of Moscow, continuing its three-week campaign of near-nightly strikes.
At least 20 Wildberries warehouses have been attacked since July 18, sparking major fires, destroying entire warehouses of stock, and disrupting its vast logistics network across the world’s largest country. A Reuters review of satellite imagery shows at least 1.18 million square metres of storage space – more than a fifth of the company’s capacity – has been damaged or destroyed.
The strikes are part of a campaign by Ukraine to “bring the war home” to ordinary Russians and raise the cost to Russia of continuing the conflict that Moscow launched in February 2022.
Wildberries, whose vast product range includes items such as night-vision goggles, ammunition pouches and helmets, alongside regular clothing, cosmetics and electronics, is a linchpin of the consumer economy and is often described as Russia’s answer to Amazon.
Kyiv accused the firm of helping to bolster Vladimir Putin’s war machine. The company and the Kremlin say it does not supply to the army.
According to Data Insight analyst Sergei Semko, goods destroyed by strikes on Wildberries warehouses in Moscow and Tambov regions alone were worth up to an estimated $2.9 billion.
The company, with a few of its warehouses hit as recently as Thursday, said on Telegram it had paid a second tranche of financial support to nearly 100,000 sellers whose goods were damaged.
Wildberries is Russia’s largest online marketplace. It has been called the country’s equivalent of Amazon, as its business model resembles a mix of Amazon Marketplace, eBay, and Temu.
Founded in 2004 by Tatyana Kim, who is now Russia’s richest woman, the company has since become the dominant e-commerce platform in Russia and several neighbouring countries.
Hosting millions of third-party sellers, the platform sells almost everything, from electronics to groceries. The marketplace features clothes, books, cosmetics, toys, appliances, household items, sports gear and much more. There’s an “E-Pharmacy” page and a travel section for booking plane tickets or hotels.
It operates a vast network of warehouses, sorting centres, and logistics hubs across Russia.
In 2021, Kim acquired a small bank and turned it into what is now Wildberries Bank, but that institution has since come under sanctions by the U.K. and the European Union.
Now, its facilities are being deliberately targeted by Ukrainian drones.
Wildberries, together with other e-commerce platforms, handles goods and services worth the equivalent of 8.5 per cent of Russia’s economy.
