Attacks on Wildberries Could Exacerbate Russia's Economic Problems — The Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian attacks on facilities belonging to the Russian marketplace Wildberries could inflict serious damage on the company and create additional risks for the Russian banking sector.
According to The Wall Street Journal, since the start of the campaign against Wildberries, Ukrainian attacks have hit nearly two dozen of the company’s warehouses, including those in regions of Russia located more than 1,600 km from the front lines.
According to Data Insight’s estimates, sellers using the Wildberries platform may have lost goods worth up to $5 billion. In total, the attacks damaged more than 1 million square meters of the company’s warehouse space.
Meanwhile, Wildberries continues to operate, but the situation is creating financial problems for the company. According to the WSJ, the marketplace owes more than $10 billion to Russian banks. Discussions are already underway in Russia regarding the possibility of state support for the company.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the government is in talks with Wildberries regarding assistance following the attacks. However, no final decision on support has been made yet.
The WSJ notes that Russia’s largest banks, including Sberbank and VTB, are likely to have more options for rescuing the company or reducing its debt burden. At the same time, smaller banks that lend to Wildberries sellers may face greater risks.
The publication also notes that Wildberries has close ties to the Russian government. In 2024, the company merged with an advertising holding company backed by oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. According to WSJ sources, the deal was approved by Vladimir Putin, and former Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin was tasked with overseeing the company’s development.
In 2025, Wildberries also launched a section selling military gear, including body armor and helmets. This section was later removed from the website.
This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.
As a reminder, sales of military goods on Wildberries plummeted following Ukrainian attacks.
The Russian marketplace Wildberries plans to launch a network of “partner hubs” for storing goods as part of its support for sellers and owners of order pickup points.
