Ukrainian drone strikes cripple Russian e-commerce warehouses, hurting workers and sellers

Since mid-July, Ukrainian drones have targeted dozens of warehouses belonging to Wildberries and Ozon, destroying stored merchandise and prompting daily air-raid alerts at logistics centers. Employees like Olga and Dmitry describe cramped shelters, chaotic evacuations and a lingering fear of not returning home, yet most remain on the job because of higher wages than regional averages. Sellers such as Anna Yemelyanenko and Lyazzat Muratkyzy report losses ranging from half a million to tens of millions of rubles, with compensation from Wildberries limited to small, often opaque payments.

The platforms have rolled out insurance products, low-interest loans and temporary fee reductions, but critics argue these measures do little to offset the scale of damage. Legal pressure is mounting, with hundreds of lawsuits filed against both companies over destroyed stock and payment delays, while the Russian government has offered tax deferrals for heavily affected businesses.