Drone strikes hit Wildberries warehouses as losses mount and pressure spreads to banks

Russia’s largest e-commerce platform, Wildberries, has been hit by a sustained wave of drone attacks over the past month, with the reported damage extending across a large share of its warehouse network. According to the source material, at least 21 strikes since mid-July have destroyed more than 1.5 million square meters of storage space, wiped out roughly a third of the company’s warehouse capacity, and left estimated cargo losses of $5.9 billion. The attacks were described as concentrated on logistics hubs. Facilities in Elektrostal, Kotovsk, Krasnodar, Shushary, Aleksin, Voronezh, and Koledino were listed among the damaged or destroyed sites. TechTimes also reported that Ukraine’s HUR cyber unit breached Wildberries’ payment system twice between Aug. 10 and Aug. 15 while roughly 600 drones were used in coordinated operations, temporarily disrupting seven of the company’s 10 main logistics centers. The fallout has moved past physical infrastructure. The report says around 80% of warehouse buildings and inventory were uninsured, and Wildberries’ terms that took effect on July 11 excluded compensation for drone strikes. Insurer Ingosstrakh raised related premiums by 3.3 times, while Russia’s central bank asked major lenders including Sberbank and VTB to prepare debt restructuring plans. The article adds that more than 400,000 sellers on the platform are still struggling to recover losses.