Russia Explores Wildberries Aid After Ukraine Drone Strike
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- Russian government is exploring support measures for Wildberries after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged at least seven warehouses and destroyed roughly 10% of the company's storage capacity, with state-controlled bank VTB expected to play a central role, two sources told Reuters.
- Wildberries founder and CEO Tatyana Kim, Russia's richest woman, is in contact with authorities about possible tax breaks and compensation for sellers; the company said it needs at least 30 days to assess damage before making payments and announced storage fee discounts.
- VTB first deputy CEO Dmitry Pyanov said the bank would be "open to various forms of lending support" if it received such a request; VTB shares fell 2.5% on Tuesday amid uncertainty about the bank's exposure to Wildberries.
- Ukraine targeted Wildberries because of its role supplying the Russian army and its VTB partnership, per Fire Point co-founder Denys Shtilierman, who warned the retailer's collapse would cascade into multiple Russian banks.
- Wildberries carries 830 billion rubles in debt under Russian accounting standards — below Russia's largest energy and industrial firms — with international-standard debt at roughly two times EBITDA.
- Inna Marchenko, a St. Petersburg seller who lost 1.5 million rubles worth of pet food in the fires, received only 8,000 rubles in Wildberries compensation, which could only be used for advertising on the platform.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wildberries acted in an unprecedented way by voluntarily assisting sellers without any legal obligation, calling it worthy of "the highest praise," though the Kremlin confirmed no support decision has been made.
Why it matters: Wildberries is central to Russia's plan to spur economic growth amid mounting military spending and a broader slowdown — meaning the destruction of 10% of its storage capacity hits Moscow at exactly the wrong fiscal moment. With VTB already exposed via a recent 5% stake in WB Bank and 830 billion rubles of Wildberries debt sitting on Russia's private credit books, any rescue will test how far the state is willing to backstop a retailer that Ukraine is now openly treating as a military-adjacent target.
