On the night of 17–18 July, Ukrainian drones struck two major logistics centres of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, in Elektrostal near Moscow and Kotovsk in the Tambov region. The attacks killed eight people, injured more than 70, and triggered fires that destroyed one warehouse entirely. Russian analysts estimate total economic damage at up to 100 billion roubles ($1.3bn), making it one of the most expensive strikes on commercial infrastructure since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the operation as retaliation for Russian strikes on the Ukrainian logistics firm Nova Poshta and claimed the warehouses held components for drone production and navigation equipment. Wildberries, which lists dual-use items such as body armour and fibre-optic cables on its platform, has not confirmed any direct cooperation with the defence ministry. The company’s founder, Tatyana Kim, called the attack a “terrible event” but did not address the military-use allegations. Ukraine’s drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, added that the strikes aimed to shatter the “illusion of a comfortable peacetime existence” among the Russian population. Russian authorities opened terrorism investigations and state media focused on casualty figures while largely suppressing images of the destruction.

The immediate fallout has fallen disproportionately on the tens of thousands of small entrepreneurs who sell goods via Wildberries. Just days before the attack, the company updated its seller agreement to exclude liability for losses caused by drone strikes, leaving merchants with no legal claim to compensation. Many reported losing their entire inventory, with some declaring bankruptcy on social media. Insurance is expected to cover only a fraction of the damage, and Wildberries’ support measures—such as temporary fee waivers—do not replace destroyed stock. The strikes also rattled financial markets: shares of rival marketplace Ozon fell as much as 12% in early trading on 20 July before recovering, signalling investor concern that the entire e-commerce sector is now within Ukraine’s strike range.

Viewed from Kyiv, the attack extends a months-long campaign against Russian energy and military logistics to the civilian supply chains that sustain the wartime economy. Analysts in European capitals note that Ukraine is systematically targeting infrastructure that underpins both the military effort and the population’s sense of normalcy. In Moscow, officials have not announced new air-defence measures for commercial sites, and Wildberries has continued operations at unaffected warehouses, urging sellers to keep shipping goods. Sellers, however, face deep uncertainty, and further strikes on logistics hubs are widely expected. The dossier remains open: no state compensation mechanism has been proposed, and legal avenues for affected businesses appear limited.