MOSCOW, July 20 — Against the backdrop of a war that has rewritten the rules of logistical warfare, Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, has become an unexpected frontline target, its vast distribution centres bearing the scars of Ukrainian drone strikes that began nearly two years ago. Founded in 2004 by Tatyana Bakalchuk, Wildberries operates a sprawling network of logistics hubs, including major facilities in the Moscow and Leningrad regions. The company reported a revenue of 1.2 trillion rubles in 2023 and employs over 100,000 people.
Yet since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, these civilian warehouses have been hit by a campaign of precision drone attacks designed to disrupt military logistics and economic operations alike.
A Retail Giant Under Fire
Two incidents stand out. On August 21, 2024, a Ukrainian drone strike damaged a Wildberries distribution centre in Vsevolozhsk, in the Leningrad region, sparking a fire that destroyed thousands of packages. Then, on September 1, 2024, a drone struck a warehouse in Elektrostal, Moscow region, triggering a large blaze that burned for hours and led to an estimated 1.5 billion rubles — approximately $16 million — in losses.
No casualties were reported in either attack. But the economic consequences have rippled through Russia’s e-commerce sector.
Wildberries was forced to suspend operations at the affected sites, reroute shipments, and step up security. The result: delivery delays and higher costs for Russian consumers. The drones used in these strikes are Ukrainian-made, including the ‘Liutyi’ model, which has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers.
Russia’s air defence systems intercepted some of the incoming drones but failed to prevent all hits. In the corridors of Moscow’s business and security circles, the vulnerability of critical civilian infrastructure to such persistent targeting has become a subject of concern.
Economic and Strategic Impact
Analysts noted that following the September strike, Wildberries’ stock value — traded as WB on the Moscow Exchange — dropped by 5%. The attacks are part of a broader strategy to target Russian supply chains and civilian infrastructure that supports the war effort, a tactic that blurs the line between military and commercial targets. In response, Russia has threatened retaliation against Ukrainian infrastructure.
The wider picture is one of escalating economic warfare, where a company that was once a symbol of Russia’s consumer-driven growth now finds itself at the centre of a conflict in which drones can reach the outskirts of Moscow from hundreds of kilometres away. What is at stake for Wildberries goes beyond immediate financial losses.
The attacks have forced the company to divert resources to security and logistics reorganisation, while the psychological impact on Russian consumers — who now face delays and higher prices for goods delivered through channels that were once seen as invulnerable — could reshape the domestic e-commerce landscape. As the war grinds on, the question of how long any civilian infrastructure in Russia can remain insulated from the long reach of Ukrainian drones remains open.
Sources
{“@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “NewsArticle”, “headline”: “Ukraine Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses in Russia”, “description”: “MOSCOW, July 20 — Against the backdrop of a war that has rewritten the rules of logistical warfare, Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, has become…”, “datePublished”: “2026-07-20T09:30:00+00:00”, “author”: {“@type”: “Person”, “name”: “Beatrice Bianchi”}, “publisher”: {“@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “InfoPulse Today”, “url”: “https://newsfeed.infopulsetoday.com/”}, “citation”: [{“@type”: “CreativeWork”, “url”: “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildberries”}]}
