Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, has become a new priority target for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory, in an apparent attempt to disrupt the supply of equipment used in the war and to destabilize the Russian economy.
A warehouse in Russia's Vladimir region caught fire after the latest drone attack on Monday, following a series of daily strikes against facilities belonging to the company often described as Russia's answer to Amazon.
More than 20% of the company's capacity has already been damaged, according to Forbes, while small and medium-sized businesses may have lost goods worth more than 3 billion euros. Russia has called the attacks "terrorist," but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the marketplace is involved in supplying components for drones and other equipment used in attacks on Ukraine.
Until recently, the company sold items such as drone materials and armor plates under a label reading "Everything for the Special Military Operation," which was removed after the attacks began. Russian civilian volunteers who help equip the army continue to buy sniper scopes, components that can be used in explosives, and other military-use products through the site.
A circle close to Putin
A smaller marketplace, Ozon, has so far avoided direct hits, fueling speculation that the Ukrainian campaign is targeting Wildberries because of possible control of the company by people close to Vladimir Putin's inner circle. The Kremlin helped resolve a major dispute over ownership of the company in 2024, a conflict that included a shootout in Moscow and the involvement of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Wildberries may be under attack because of its key role in the Russian economy, according to political analyst Vitali Portnikov. He said companies like Wildberries guarantee the development of the Russian economy despite sanctions and allow Putin to plan the war for years to come. Portnikov said that without money there is no war, and that Ukraine's attacks aim to degrade the Russian economy to bring that about.
Russia's economic growth fell short of forecasts last year, and 2026 has already recorded a budget deficit of around 87 billion euros, according to analysts. The weak economic performance has already pushed Moscow to raise taxes to gather the funds needed for the war, though the move risks creating new economic problems. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized businesses that lost goods in the Ukrainian strikes are demanding compensation, and hundreds of videos have circulated expressing anger over how the situation has been handled.
Pushing Russia toward diplomacy
Zelensky said the main goal of the long-range pressure campaign is to push Russia further toward diplomacy, citing complications in the production of weapons components, oil losses, and other economic damage, and by bringing the war back to what he called its "port of origin."
Portnikov said the hope is that while Ukraine keeps receiving Western financial support, which keeps its economy afloat and helps fund its defense, Russia will lack that same financial cushion and be forced to change its objectives in Ukraine.
Warehouses may also be an easier target for Ukrainian drones, the main tool behind Kyiv's long-range strikes, given the lack of a stable supply or production of far more powerful missiles. Highly flammable materials help fires spread after relatively light drone strikes, and the facilities are not as heavily protected by air defenses as major military installations or Putin's residences.
Ukraine continues to strike other targets as well, including oil refineries and drone production centers, such as a university in Belgorod that was hit by drones on Monday. Russia, for its part, continues to attack Ukraine's energy system and civilian logistics hubs in a war of attrition that shows no sign of ending. Three people, including an 8-year-old child, were killed and six were injured on Monday in an attack on a gas station in Dnipropetrovsk.
