Russian E-Commerce Giants Beg Kremlin for Bailout After Devastating Drone Strikes

Russia’s largest e-commerce companies have appealed to the government for non-refundable federal financial aid to compensate sellers for catastrophic losses caused by Ukrainian drone attacks, The Moscow Times reported on August 14.

The appeal follows a Ukrainian drone campaign that destroyed all of industry giant Wildberries' major warehouses, eliminating roughly one-third of the company’s total storage capacity. A recent report estimates the total financial impact could approach 1 trillion rubles ($11.87 billion), comprising up to 700 billion rubles ($8.31 billion) in lost seller merchandise and 278 billion rubles ($3.30 billion) in direct damages and site restoration costs for Wildberries.

Citing the Russian business daily Vedomosti, The Moscow Times noted that an official letter was sent to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin by the Association of Digital Platforms (ACP), which includes industry giants like Ozon, Yandex, Avito, Kuper, and Wildberries.

According to the publication, the ACP is requesting that the size of budget payouts be determined based on the actual damage and the scale of the affected company’s operations.

Furthermore, the association is asking the cabinet to grant affected entrepreneurs at least a six-month deferral or installment plan for taxes and mandatory payments, as well as the cancellation of all penalties and fines accrued during the period when their normal business operations were disrupted.

The financial aid requested by the ACP is estimated in the hundreds of billions of rubles. The Moscow Times highlighted data from Data Insight showing that after the series of Ukrainian strikes, goods worth between 445 and 507 billion rubles ($5.28 billion and $6.02 billion) burned in Wildberries warehouses.

The Association of Suppliers of Goods for Electronic Marketplaces (APTEP) estimates the losses for sellers to be even higher, reaching between 600 and 700 billion rubles ($7.12 billion and $8.31 billion).

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Meanwhile, Wildberries itself, having lost about a third of its warehouse capacity, suffered direct losses ranging from 147 to 223 billion rubles ($1.74 billion to $2.65 billion), according to Data Insight. The Moscow Times pointed out that this sum climbs to 278 billion rubles ($3.30 billion) when factoring in the demolition, waste removal, and land rehabilitation of the affected territories.

Although Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim promised to assist affected sellers, the report states that the company realistically lacks the funds for such expenses. Its own losses easily swallow its entire annual profit—which stood at 175 billion rubles ($2.08 billion) last year—and the sellers' losses exceed that sum several times over.

According to APTEP data cited by the outlet, Wildberries has only paid entrepreneurs between 2,000 and 30,000 rubles ($23.74 and $356.08), failing to cover even 20 percent of their actual losses.

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Despite this massive financial hole, the government is unlikely to step in. The Moscow Times referenced a previous statement from a source close to the Kremlin, originally reported by Reuters, stating that Russia simply does not have enough funds to save the affected Wildberries sellers.

Describing the disaster at the marketplace—which controls half of the country’s e-commerce market—as a “serious blow to the economy,” the source delivered a grim outlook. “There will be a wave of bankruptcies. No one has that kind of money to support the sellers,” the source told the publication.

The targeting of Wildberries warehouses follows its role in supporting the Russian army by allowing military equipment to be sold and delivered through its logistics network. Although the company recently disabled its dedicated “Everything for the SMO” product tag following the drone strikes, independent outlets report that tactical gear, body armor, and drone components remain readily available for purchase under other active war-themed categories on the platform.

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