Wildberries losses may approach $12 billion after Ukrainian strikes
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Fire at the Wildberries warehouse in Russia, July 22, 2026 (Photo: Exilenova+ / Telegram)
Ukraine’s campaign against Wildberries has stripped Russia’s largest online marketplace of its major warehouses and nearly a third of its total storage capacity, pushing Tatyana Kim’s business empire toward a severe financial crisis. Reuters reported this week that almost 30% of the company’s warehouse space had been destroyed.
Wildberries’ direct losses from destroyed infrastructure amounted to an estimated 147 billion to 223 billion rubles ($1.75 billion to $2.65 billion) by mid-August, Data Insight senior analyst Sergei Semko calculated for Forbes.
If demolition, debris removal and site remediation are included, costs could rise to as much as 278 billion rubles ($3.31 billion).
Sellers on the platform may have lost merchandise worth another 445 billion to 507 billion rubles ($5.29 billion to $6.05 billion), Semko estimated.
That would put total losses at around 800 billion rubles ($9.5 billion).
Margarita Yevstigneyeva, head of the Association of Suppliers of Goods for E-Commerce Platforms, estimates sellers’ losses even higher, at 600 billion to 700 billion rubles ($7.14 billion to $8.3 billion).
Combined with Wildberries’ own losses, the overall damage could approach 1 trillion rubles ($11.93 billion).
“For many, up to 95% of all their goods burned,” Yevstigneyeva said.
“At the same time, Wildberries considers itself an injured party. Small sellers received an average of 2,000 to 30,000 rubles ($24 to $357), which did not cover even 20% of their losses.”
Wildberries, a company that handled goods worth the equivalent of about 3% of Russia’s GDP last year, is now facing falling turnover and signs of a cash crunch following the warehouse strikes. Reuters put the value of goods processed through the platform last year at about $75 billion.
Sellers have increasingly complained about delays in receiving payments for goods already sold, while Wildberries subsidiary WB Bank has launched a campaign to attract retail deposits through short-term accounts offering interest rates above 14% annually.
Wildberries’ direct losses may already exceed the company’s annual profit. The marketplace recorded net profit of 175 billion rubles ($2.08 billion) last year.
Yevstigneyeva said further large-scale compensation for affected sellers does not appear to be planned.
“They say this is force majeure, circumstances beyond their control, a terrorist attack,” she said.
Forbes reported that Wildberries has described the strikes as force majeure and said it needs more time to assess losses across affected warehouses before determining final compensation.
The crisis comes as Russia’s public finances are also under increasing pressure.
By the end of July, the federal budget deficit had reached 6.45 trillion rubles, 1.7 times the planned deficit for the entire year. Russia had already recorded a 5.73 trillion-ruble deficit in the first half of 2026, while government projections point to further spending overruns.
Military and security spending accounts for a major share of Russia’s federal expenditures, with actual spending potentially exceeding earlier plans.
Wildberries warehouses under sustained Ukrainian attack
Ukrainian drones struck Ryazan on July 29, with reports of attacks on both a local oil refinery and a Wildberries warehouse, triggering major fires.
Wildberries subsequently restricted access to its Ryazan facility.
Drones also attacked a Wildberries logistics center in Penza Oblast, where a fire broke out, as well as a warehouse in Sarapul, Udmurtia.
By late July, Ukrainian drones had struck at least 15 Wildberries distribution centers, with more than 860,000 square meters of warehouse space knocked out at that stage.
As the attacks continued, Wildberries began searching for available warehouse space in Kazakhstan and was reportedly prepared to take virtually all suitable capacity available there.
The Russian government has also considered measures to support Wildberries and businesses connected to the platform, with state-controlled VTB expected to play a key role.
Possible assistance has included loans, tax relief and other financial support, Reuters reported.
Wildberries previously said it would need at least 30 days to assess damage before beginning broader payments to sellers whose goods were stored at affected facilities.
The attacks have also begun reshaping Russia’s e-commerce market.
Sellers have been leaving the platform, while prices on Russian marketplaces have risen by 10% to 30%.
Russian businesses have warned the Kremlin that widespread bankruptcies among Wildberries sellers could reduce tax revenue flowing into the federal budget.
Rival marketplace Ozon has meanwhile begun taking steps to minimize risks to its own infrastructure.
The impact has continued to grow as Ukraine expanded its campaign. Reuters reported on Aug. 7 that more than 1.18 million square meters of Wildberries warehouse space, over one-fifth of its capacity at that point, had already been damaged or destroyed.
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