Moscow (AFP) – Ukraine has hit the warehouses of Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries around a dozen times since mid-July, killing at least eight people and knocking out a large chunk of the company’s storage capacity. Kyiv accuses the e-commerce giant — which employs tens of thousands of people and is sometimes referred to as “Russia’s Amazon” — of storing drone parts and helping the Russian army.
Here is what we know about Wildberries and how it became a target for Ukraine, which has intensified its retaliatory strikes on Russia more than four years into the war.
– Series of attacks – Ukraine first targeted Wildberries on July 18, hitting a warehouse near Moscow and another in the Tambov region, south of the capital. It has since targeted around a dozen other warehouses across central and western Russia, from the southern Krasnodar region to the city of Sarapul, more than 1,200 kilometres (about 750 miles) from the front line. The strikes have sparked huge fires and killed at least eight people, according to officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the warehouses as “logistics hubs involved in supplying the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment and other gear.” Both Wildberries and the Kremlin have rejected this characterisation. Since the strikes, the company appears to have removed a search tag from its website linked to Ukraine war paraphernalia.
– What is Wildberries? – Wildberries is Russia’s largest online retailer, accounting for up to 10 percent of the country’s entire retail turnover, according to Russian media. The company has tens of thousands of pickup locations across the country — even in remote villages — and sells a dizzying range of products, from medicine to children’s goods. Since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, Wildberries has been accused of helping Russians dodge Western sanctions by importing branded goods via third party countries. The firm says it processes more than 20 million transactions a day and has played an important role in keeping the Russian economy afloat, with many small and medium-sized businesses relying on it to sell their products. Russian businesses had struggled with internet restrictions and tax hikes imposed by the Kremlin, as well as fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian strikes. Denys Shtilerman, head of Ukrainian defence firm Fire Point, said the strikes were partly aimed at harming Russia’s economy and hoped it could trigger a financial crisis.
– Frustration on social media – Wildberries has not released estimates for the damage caused by the Ukrainian strikes. Strikes on two of its warehouses in southern Russia last week could have caused more than $1.5 billion in damage alone, the Forbes Russia news outlet reported, while other media outlets say the company could have lost up to 10 percent of its storage capacity in total. The company says it has paid around $500,000 in compensation to the families of employees killed in the strikes. Wildberries has also reimbursed the losses of some small businesses, although many say they are still out of pocket. Some sellers reported having to sign clauses waiving their right to compensation in the event of a drone strike on warehouse facilities. Viktoria Terekhova, founder of a children’s clothing brand, said in a video on Instagram that she had lost “practically all” her stock and had no way of obtaining compensation. “We lost not only the goods but also all the money invested in them…I hope I have the strength, courage, and resilience to get over this,” she said, breaking into tears.
– ‘Support entrepreneurs’ – The Kremlin has acknowledged the government may have to assist Wildberries, but has not yet made a decision on state aid. Wildberries CEO Tatiana Kim — who reportedly founded the company out of her apartment in 2004 and is now Russia’s richest woman — has said the company is working on security measures and re-directing goods. The multi-billionaire accused Kyiv of attacking “ordinary people.” The company has launched a major advertising campaign across Russia in recent days with the tagline: “Support entrepreneurs with an order.”
© 2024 AFP
