Ukraine Drone Strikes Hit Wildberries Warehouses in Southern Russia
Ukraine Drone Strikes Hit Wildberries Warehouses, Injuring Workers and Disrupting Russian E-Commerce
Ukrainian Drone Attacks Target Russian E-Commerce Giant Wildberries
Details of the Latest Attacks
MOSCOW, July 22 (Reuters) – Ukraine has attacked two more warehouses of Russian online retailer Wildberries, its boss said on Wednesday, injuring several people and extending a campaign of drone strikes against a company at the heart of Russia’s consumer economy.
Tatyana Kim, the co-founder and head of Wildberries, said warehouses had been attacked in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk, both in southern Russia. Social media footage, verified by Reuters, showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the air in Krasnodar.
Impact on Russian E-Commerce Sector
Wildberries, often described as Russia’s Amazon, is one of the country’s biggest employers. Its shares are not publicly traded, but those of its rival Ozon were down 4% on the Moscow exchange on Wednesday on concerns it too could become a target.
The attacks on Wildberries’ massive warehouses mark a new stage in Ukraine’s campaign of deep strikes inside Russia to undermine Moscow’s war effort and bring the conflict home to ordinary Russians by disrupting their lives.
Ukrainian and Russian Official Responses
Ukraine, whose own cities are under constant attack, says it is hitting companies and infrastructure that support the Russian military. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday described the latest targets as logistics hubs involved in supplying Russian forces with drone components and other equipment.
The Kremlin has denied Wildberries handles military supplies. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s logistics hubs as well as its energy system and power grid.
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A previous strike by Ukrainian drones on Saturday killed eight Wildberries workers, sparked fires and disrupted the company’s operations.
Statements from Wildberries Leadership
“There are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on all of us who are simply doing our jobs,” Kim, the company’s boss, said in a post on Telegram after the latest attacks.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
Authorities and Emergency Response
Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratiev, without naming Wildberries, said that 10 people were wounded in an attack on a storage complex.
Authorities said a helicopter and more than 100 firefighters were dealing with the warehouse blaze.
Industry Reaction and Economic Impact
An e-commerce lobby group, AUREK, said it had asked the government to delay tax payments for half a year for businesses that sustained losses from the attacks.
Wildberries started as an online shop reselling apparel from European catalogues. It has since expanded its product range and evolved into a marketplace that includes third-party vendors. Wildberries has not commented on the scale of the damage.
Online sales across Russia rose 28% in 2025 to 11.5 trillion roubles ($147 billion), according to the Association of Internet Trade Companies. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said sales of goods and services on digital platforms equated to around 8.5% of GDP.
Reporting and Editorial Credits
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Toby Chopra)
