Inside Ukraine's Drone Campaign Against 'Russia's Amazon': Wildberries Hit at 20 Sites, Sellers Left With Millions in Losses

The Latest Attack: Yekaterinburg Hub Struck on August 7

On the morning of August 7, Ukrainian Liutyi attack drones struck a Wildberries logistics hub in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Sverdlovsk region of the Urals . Acting Governor Denis Pasler said air defense forces shot down eight drones, with debris from three crashing onto the warehouse roof and starting fires . Video footage showed multiple fires burning beneath the warehouse roof . Wildberries confirmed the attack and reported that firefighters contained the blaze . It was the second time the Yekaterinburg facility was targeted — a July 25 drone threat had previously forced an evacuation and sparked a fire in a nearby parking lot .

Campaign Scope: ~20 Sites Hit, Massive Warehouse Destruction

Since the campaign began on July 18, Ukrainian drones have struck around 20 Wildberries sites across Russia in less than three weeks . A Reuters review of satellite imagery shows at least 1.18 million square meters of storage space — more than a fifth of Wildberries' total capacity — has been damaged or destroyed . Analysts at Data Insight, cited by Forbes Russia, estimated that as of August 2, facilities covering between 1.21 and 1.47 million square meters had been struck, representing 17.2–22.2% of the company's 5.2 million square meters of logistics space . Russian analysts estimated total economic damage at up to 100 billion rubles (~$1.3 billion) for the initial strikes alone . At least 15 people have been killed across multiple strikes, including warehouse workers and a child .

Kyiv's Rationale

Ukraine's leadership says Wildberries is a legitimate military target because the company has aided the Russian war effort — supplying uniforms, electronics, and other goods to the military . President Volodymyr Zelensky stated the strikes aim to eliminate the economic base that supports Russia's invasion, calling the targeted logistics centers "involved in supplying the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment, and other military hardware" . He also framed the attacks as a response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure .

Economic Fallout: Sellers Devastated, Pickup Points Sold Off

The campaign has inflicted severe losses on sellers who stored goods in Wildberries warehouses:

• Finn Flare, a major Russian clothing brand, reported losses of 100 million rubles in destroyed stock and warned it may face "critical consequences" .
• More than 3,100 franchised pickup points (punkty vydachi) have been listed for sale by franchisees facing ruin .
• Sellers across Russia have lost entire inventories with no compensation from standard insurance, which typically excludes military-action damage under Article 964 of the Russian Civil Code .
• In a broader estimate, Data Insight's Sergei Semko calculated seller losses could reach 215–280 billion rubles as of August 2 .

Wildberries itself updated its seller agreement on July 7 — just 11 days before the first strike — to classify drone strikes, shelling, and explosions as "force majeure," shielding the company from liability for lost goods .

New Insurance Policy: Drone Strike Coverage, But Tightly Capped

On August 7, Wildberries introduced expanded voluntary insurance for sellers that now covers terrorist attacks, sabotage, and drone strikes . Key details from the updated terms, reported by Meduza, The Insider, and Russian legal sites:

• Effective date: August 7, 2026 .
• Coverage: Goods damaged or lost due to direct terrorist attacks, sabotage, and drone strikes, including fires caused by falling drone debris .
• Payout cap: 100,000 rubles ($1,200) per entire order, with a sub-limit of 50,000 rubles ($600) per individual item within that order .
• Premium increase: Seller insurance tariffs rose 40% .
• Exclusions: The policy does not cover goods stored in Wildberries warehouses — only items in transit or at pickup points. It also does not provide retroactive compensation for goods already destroyed in the July–August attacks .
• Practical impact: Sellers have criticized the 100,000 ruble cap as far too low — most lost orders in the warehouse fires were valued much higher — and note that the exclusion of warehouse storage leaves their biggest exposure uninsured .

The Bigger Picture

The campaign has knocked out nearly two-thirds of Wildberries' largest logistics hubs, according to the OSINT group DroneBomber, which reported that 16 of the company's 26 major warehouse complexes had been disabled as of August 2 . The company said in June that it operated 209 logistics sites totaling 5.2 million square meters . By early August, The Moscow Times reported that more than a quarter of that capacity had been knocked out .

The Ukrainian strikes have brought the war home to ordinary Russians in an unprecedented way, destroying not just military infrastructure but the consumer economy that millions rely on . The Guardian reported that small entrepreneurs whose businesses were wiped out by the warehouse fires expressed shock and anger that the war had reached their livelihoods .

In short: the campaign has hit roughly 20 Wildberries facilities since July 18, caused billions in damage, inflicted severe losses on sellers like Finn Flare, triggered a sell-off of pickup points, and prompted Wildberries to offer a narrowly capped drone-strike insurance option that excludes warehouse stock and past losses. The latest strike on the Yekaterinburg hub on August 7 underscores the campaign's continuing reach deep into Russian territory.