Losses from Ukrainian drone strikes will leave Russian online retail giant Wildberries unprofitable for years, The Bell reports
business
Meduza reports that Ukrainian drone strikes on Wildberries' warehouses have cost Russia's largest online marketplace an estimated one hundred to two hundred billion rubles in direct losses. Up to ten percent of the products sold were Wildberries' own inventory, amplifying the impact. The marketplace faces years of losses as sellers migrate to competitors. Its business model—collect from buyers immediately, pay sellers much later, and use that cash gap as working capital—only works during growth. When revenue falls, the cycle collapses. Seller losses from the warehouse strikes alone reach an estimated two hundred fifteen to two hundred eighty billion rubles. Russian authorities are unlikely to allow Wildberries to fail entirely, but support plans remain unclear—and Russia's budget deficit already hit five point seven trillion rubles in just the first half of twenty twenty-six.
Source: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/06/losses-from-ukrai...
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