Ukrainian attacks in Russia
“The sheer scale was shocking”
July 25, 2026 – 4:59 p.mReading time: 4 minutes
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Ukrainian drones have hit the warehouse of the Russian online retailer Wildberries several times within a week. The damage mainly affects small retailers – with devastating consequences.
For the third time in a week, Ukrainian drones attacked the warehouses of the Russian online retailer Wildberries on Friday. The destruction is great; at least eight people were killed. Kyiv considers the company, which is of great importance to Russian consumers and traders, important in terms of Russian military logistics.
However, it is also important for small to medium-sized companies. Often referred to as the “Russian Amazon”, Wildberries enables fast deliveries throughout Russia. There are tens of thousands of pick-up points, even in remote places and small towns. The company claims to process more than 20 million transactions daily.
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Different to Amazon However, Wildberries primarily serves as a marketplace for companies. They can store their products in Wildberries warehouses, and the e-commerce platform then takes care of the logistics. However, Wildberries hardly offers its own products.
The Ukrainian attacks are therefore particularly hard on those small and medium-sized companies whose support the Kremlin boss relies on Vladimir Putin actually took up the cause. According to analysts, up to 800,000 retailers work with Wildberries.
“We are already being ripped off from all sides”
Blogger Marina Gorshkova said in a video that was shared online: “I cried all morning because our store might have to close.” She and her husband have been selling cosmetics for years, and 35 to 40 percent of their inventory was destroyed by the fires.
The British broadcaster BBC quotes another Russian entrepreneur who was affected by the destruction at Wildberries. “I am the mother of a disabled child and I built the company myself,” complained the woman. “I lost a million rubles (around 11,300 euros). We are already being ripped off from all sides.”
Clothing dealer Arina told the independent Russian portal “Bereg” that she was affected by the fire in the warehouse in Elektrostal Moscow was affected. “There was this feeling of being let down again,” she explained. It was very “uncomfortable” for her. She estimated the damage to her company at the equivalent of almost 7,000 euros.
