Wildberries Hit by Drone Strikes
PHOTO CAPTION: Smoke billows from the burning Wildberries warehouse following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to local authorities, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 24, 2026, in this still image taken from video. REUTERS/Stringer
Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries said Ukrainian drones struck three more of its warehouses overnight, expanding a series of attacks that has damaged more than 10% of the company’s logistics capacity since July 18.
The latest attacks targeted warehouses in St. Petersburg, the surrounding Leningrad region and Simferopol, the main city in Russian-controlled Crimea, according to Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim, Russia’s wealthiest woman.
Reuters video from St. Petersburg and the nearby area showed two large plumes of thick smoke rising into the sky.
Kim said employees carried out rapid evacuations at all three warehouses and managed to save some buildings and merchandise.
“According to preliminary reports, there were no casualties,” Kim said in a statement.
She said Wildberries was redistributing goods among its warehouses to maintain stock turnover and protect the financial stability of businesses that sell through the platform.
The strikes marked the fourth attack on Wildberries facilities since last weekend. Eight company warehouses have now been attacked since July 18, when the first strike on the retailer killed eight workers.
The damaged facilities account for more than 10% of Wildberries’ logistics capacity.
The attacks threaten serious losses for businesses that sell through Wildberries and could disrupt customers who use the platform to purchase clothing, appliances, medicines, cosmetics and other products.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has described the targeted facilities as logistics hubs involved in supplying Russian forces with drone components and other equipment.
The Kremlin has denied that Wildberries handles military supplies.
Kim has accused Ukraine of attacking ordinary people doing their jobs. She said the company was working around the clock to maintain the quality of its service.
The attacks appear to be part of a broader Ukrainian campaign to damage Russia’s economy and logistics networks and bring more of the war’s effects to ordinary Russians. The war has been fought primarily on Ukrainian territory for more than four years.
Wildberries plays a central role in Russia’s consumer economy and is often described as Moscow’s answer to Amazon. The European Union imposed sanctions on the company’s banking arm this week over its financial contribution to the Russian budget.
Despite the recent attacks, several orders reviewed by Reuters were delivered on time or remained in progress.
Two orders placed by Reuters reporters since the weekend were delivered either completely or almost completely on time. Two others were still being processed.
Under normal conditions, Wildberries can handle more than 20 million orders per day.
Wildberries, its leading competitor Ozon and smaller rivals sell goods and services worth the equivalent of 8.5% of Russia’s gross domestic product. Together, they employ 4 million people, representing more than 5% of the country’s workforce.
Russia has also targeted Ukrainian logistics hubs, along with the country’s energy system and power grid.
(Source: Reuters)
