How Ukraine is bringing the wa... Note
Fast Company

How Ukraine is bringing the war home in Russia with drone strikes on this e-commerce staple

For a month, Ukraine's drones have strategically targeted Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, hitting warehouses from Moscow to the Urals. These attacks, unlike previous strikes on military or industrial sites, aim to disrupt civilian life and the broader economy. Wildberries, founded by Tatyana Kim, the country's richest female entrepreneur, is vital to Russia's e-commerce, offering a wide array of goods. The company's large, unprotected warehouses, some as big as 3.2 million square feet, proved easy targets for drone strikes. These attacks have destroyed merchandise worth billions of dollars, impacting hundreds of thousands of individual sellers and causing significant financial strain.Wildberries, which accounts for about half of all online orders in Russia, relies on approximately two dozen massive warehouses for its logistical network. The first attack occurred on July 18, and since then, numerous depots have been engulfed in massive fires. Experts estimate that up to 20% of Wildberries' total warehouse space has been destroyed, with losses potentially reaching $6 billion. The company has attempted to reinforce its sites and rearrange supply chains, but the attacks persist. Ukrainian officials suggest these strikes aim to disrupt military supplies, cause public discontent, and destabilize the Russian economy.The attacks have caused a ripple effect across Russia's financial system, putting pressure on major banks like VTB and Sberbank, which have extended massive loans to Wildberries. Small and medium businesses, already struggling with tax increases and regulatory hurdles, face further hardship, with many owners of Wildberries pickup points reporting lost revenue. Wildberries has offered some support to sellers, but reimbursements cover only a fraction of the losses, leading to widespread pleas for government assistance. Analysts debate whether these attacks will provoke public discontent or fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment, with some pro-Kremlin figures advocating for war escalation.
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