Russia’s “Amazon-level” retail giant Wildberry is targeted by Ukraine
Ukraine has stepped up its crackdown on Russian retail giant Wildberry, marking a new stage in the Russia-Ukraine war. Wildberry is Russia’s largest online retailer, competing against U.S. e-commerce giants Serhiy Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, said: The attacked facilities not only supply civilian goods but also serve the military-industrial system, and Ukraine will most likely continue this attack tactic. On July 18, 2026, in the town of Elektrostali on the outskirts of Moscow, the Russian e-commerce Wildberry Logistics Park was attacked and caught fire, with thick smoke rising from the site. Ukrainian drones attacked two Russian logistics centers. Russia reported that the attack resulted in 8 deaths and 24 injuries. Moscow Oblast suffered a new round of drone strikes that day. The two logistics parks are located in Kotovsk, Tambov Region and Elektrostaly, Moscow Region. Ukraine continues to intensify its crackdown on Wildberry, Russia’s e-commerce giant that competes with Amazon. The Kiev authorities intend to severely damage the Russian economy. This move means that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered a new combat stage. In the past week, Ukrainian armed forces have carried out multiple air strikes on large logistics hubs in Russia, attacking a total of 5 Wildberry logistics facilities from Saturday to Wednesday. In the past few months, Ukraine has been using drones to attack Russian oil depots and refineries. Now it is attacking logistics facilities with the purpose of seriously disrupting the Russian supply chain and increasing the operating burden of Russian domestic enterprises and the national financial pressure. Founded in 2004, Wildberry is the largest online retail platform in Russia, equivalent to Amazon in the United States, with approximately 48,000 employees. Jimmy Rushton, an independent foreign policy analyst based in Ukraine, said on social media on Wednesday: "Ukraine has found a new breakthrough to pressure Russia." He added: “If the attacks continue, Wildberry, the Russian version of Amazon – which is as important to local logistics in Russia as Amazon is to the United Kingdom and the United States – may completely collapse.” Tatiana Kim, the owner of Wildberry and the richest woman in Russia, revealed on Wednesday that the Wildberry logistics hubs in two southwestern cities, Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol Krai, were attacked by drones overnight. King said one person was killed and many others injured in the attack. Russian officials reported that four days ago multiple wildberry warehouses in central Russia were attacked, killing eight people. King spoke through the Telegram platform: "The attacks hurt ordinary people, our employees and all the staff who are diligently performing their duties. It is difficult to express the emotions." "But these incidents also confirm the most important point: we must continue to stick to our jobs and serve the people." Logistics hubs may become key targets in the long term Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that these logistics hubs targeted by Ukrainian drones supply the Russian army with drone parts, navigation equipment and various military accessories. Serhiy Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, a think tank in Kiev, analyzed that the crackdown on wild berries has a dual purpose: to drag down the Russian economy and weaken the production capacity of the Russian military industry. Kuzan told reporters via email: "The destruction of this batch of logistics infrastructure has dealt a heavy blow to the Russian economy, and in turn impacted its military finances - Russia relied on state treasury funds to launch a military offensive against Ukraine." Kuzan quoted data from the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying that Wildberry is the core pillar of Russian e-commerce, and the transaction volume of this platform alone accounts for about 3% of Russia's GDP. He estimated that the total loss of wild berries was about US$2.3 billion, which is greater than the total annual fiscal budget of Russia’s 53 regions. This impact may trigger the collapse of a large number of Russian small and medium-sized enterprises. "The attacked facilities are large in size and are responsible for transporting both civilian and military supplies. Based on this, we can judge that Ukraine will continue to use this attack method." Kuzan said, "Ukraine only needs to invest limited troops to cause the enemy to suffer extremely heavy economic losses."