Wildberries offers loans, not payouts, to sellers hit by Ukraine drone strikes

Ukrainian drones struck two major logistics centers operated by Wildberries, Russia's largest online marketplace, on Saturday, July 18, killing eight people and injuring more than 70 others in one of the costliest attacks on Russian commercial infrastructure since the start of the war.

The Strikes

Seven night-shift workers were killed and 25 injured at a warehouse in the city of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, while one person was killed and 37 injured at a facility in Elektrostal near Moscow, according to regional governors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes were carried out in response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and claimed the warehouses contained "sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment".themoscowtimes+3

Ukraine's drone forces commander Robert Brovdi described the strikes as intended to destroy "the illusion of a comfortable peacetime existence for the obedient population of the aggressor state".themoscowtimes

Economic Fallout

The attacks disrupted approximately 7% of Wildberries' total logistics capacity. The Elektrostal warehouse covers more than 360,000 square meters and employs over 8,000 people, while the Kotovsk center was designed to store up to 54 million products. Russian analysts have estimated total economic damage at up to 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion), with restoration costs alone expected to reach 35.8 billion rubles ($457 million), according to the Kommersant newspaper.pravda+1

Merchants flooded social media with accounts of devastation. "I am bankrupt. Just yesterday I was an entrepreneur, and today I am bankrupt," said one clothing store owner in an Instagram post. Another businesswoman said most of her inventory was gone while "the taxes, salaries and obligations to manufacturers and our teams remain".themoscowtimes

Sellers Left Exposed

The timing proved particularly bitter for affected sellers. Just weeks before the strikes, Wildberries had updated its vendor partnership agreement — effective July 7 — to explicitly exempt itself from liability for goods damaged by drone attacks, shelling, and military operations. CEO Tatyana Kim acknowledged the company has "no legal obligation to compensate for lost goods" but said it was "working out the amount of payments to sellers". Rather than full compensation, the company offered storage fee discounts and interest-free loans.meduza+4

Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that instead of direct compensation, the retailer offered sellers discounts and loans — a response that has drawn criticism from the thousands of small business owners now facing ruin.novayagazeta