Wildberries: Why Ukraine is bombing the “Russian Amazon”.

“Tested in military special operations”

Ukraine attacks the “Russian Amazon” – this is why

Ukraine has hit two logistics centers of the Russian online retailer Wildberries with a drone attack. Why was the “Russian Amazon” targeted?

Ukrainian drone attacks on two warehouses of the Russian online retailer Wildberries According to Russian authorities, at least eight people were killed and more than 80 others were injured. Logistics centers in Elektrostal east of were affected Moscow as well as in Kotovsk in the Tambov region. The attacks sparked major fires and destroyed thousands of retailers’ goods, according to the company.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attack. He described the warehouses as part of Russian war logistics. The facilities were used to provide sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation systems. The attack was a response to Russian attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.

Wildberries is the largest online retailer in Russia and is considered the “Russian Amazon”. Officially, the company is a platform where independent traders sell their goods.

However, according to the Ukrainian account, its meaning goes far beyond that. Kyiv sees the company as an important part of Russian logistics. According to Ukrainian authorities and security experts, the platform sells, among other things, radio devices, protective vests, thermal imaging devices, drone components and other products that can be used for both civil and military purposes, i.e. so-called dual-use goods. Ukrainian security expert Serhiy Kusan described Wildberries as an “important component” of Russian logistics. The aim of the attack was to interrupt supply chains for these dual-use goods and sanctioned electronics.

There is also another aspect: On Wildberries, individual dealers advertise military-use products with information such as “Tested in the SMO” or “Choice of SMO fighters” (“The choice of the fighters of the military special operation”). The advertising information comes from individual providers on the platform and not from the company itself, but makes it clear that the war is also used as a sales argument in online retail.

Ukraine had already imposed sanctions on Wildberries in 2021. At the time, Kiev pointed out that the platform sold, among other things, Russian military uniforms, products with state and military symbols and propagandistic literature. Wildberries denied the allegations and stated that it only provided a platform for independent sellers.