What Is 'Russia's Amazon' Wildberries and Why Is Ukraine Targeting It?

Ukraine hit at least two warehouses belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries in overnight strikes on Monday, adding to a series of drone attacks that have targeted the online retailer.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly struck warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer as part of a broader campaign against logistics sites that Kyiv says support Moscow’s military.

Often described as Russia’s “Amazon,” Wildberries operates dozens of warehouses across the country and plays a core role in the Russian consumer economy.

Since July 18, Ukraine has targeted close to 20 of the retailer’s sites, referring to them as military-linked “logistic centers.”

Moscow and Wildberries have denied that the facilities supply the armed forces.

The strikes have drawn attention not only because of their reach inside Russia, but also because of Wildberries’ economic importance, its ties to the country’s financial sector, and the potential impact on ordinary Russian consumers.

”Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the Wildberries logistics center in Krasny Bor near St. Petersburg. Burning again,” read an update from the Defense of Ukraine on Tuesday. “Russian logistics, dismantled one hub at a time.”

The social media statement was accompanied by a video showcasing a large, white-painted building engulfed in flames.
“Wildberries was used to distribute military and dual-use goods,” read the caption across the footage. “We will continue dismantling the enemy’s logistics.”

https://x.com/DefenceU/status/2084653333068055029

With the Russia-Ukraine war now in its fifth year, Kyiv has shifted its military strategy as it continues to come under heavy bombardment from Moscow. Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drone strikes to target infrastructure and supply networks deep inside Russia. Amid a broader government reshuffle near the end of July, Kyiv gained a new military chief, Mykhailo Drapatyi, who Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has tasked with leading the country’s precise defensive efforts.

With Kyiv vowing to maintain its focus on the retailer’s hubs, here’s what to know about Wildberries, its high-profile founder, and why it’s being targeted.

What is Wildberries—and who founded it?

The online retailer, which hosts third-party sellers, facilitates everything from household goods to air travel, and even has a financial arm, WB Bank.

In May, Wildberries announced a strategic partnership with VTB Bank, a Russian majority state-owned institution.

VTB Bank shares fell around 2.5% on July 28 amid ongoing strikes, according to Reuters.

Days after Ukraine’s July 18 strikes against the Wildberries sites, the European Commission included the WB Bank when E.U. member states adopted its 21st package of sanctions against Russia.

“Wildberries Bank LLC is involved in an economic sector providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine,” declared the council of the European Union.

Wildberries was founded by Tatyana Kim, formerly Tatyana Bakalchuk, in 2004.

A former English teacher, Kim was 28-years-old and on maternity leave when she launched the initiative, and was later joined by her now ex-husband, Vladislav Bakalchuk.

As Wildberries grew, Kim’s fortune did too. Forbes estimates her net worth at $8.1 billion, making her Russia’s richest woman.

She was the only Russian entry on Forbes’ 2025 list of “The 50 Richest Self-Made Women On Earth.”

“Wildberries has grown from small origins to be one of two major internet marketplaces in Russia [alongside Ozon],” says Charles Hecker, an associate fellow in international security at the Royal United Services Institute think tank. “It’s an enormously prominent company and Kim is an incredibly prominent business person in Russia.”

Why is Ukraine targeting Russia’s ‘Amazon’?

Kyiv insists Wildberries is being used as a key supply chain for the Russian military.

“Ukraine’s official reason behind attacking Wildberries is that Ukraine believes the website is used as a channel for military components,” Hecker tells TIME.

After Wildberries sites were struck on July 18, Zelensky announced that “two major logistics facilities were hit—in the Moscow and Tambov regions” and said “the aggressor [Russia] used them to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has refuted accusations that Wildberries warehouses are used for Russian army supplies.

Kim has also rejected the allegations. In a July 31 video statement uploaded to Telegram, she argued Kyiv’s drone attacks on sites linked to Wildberries amount to “acts of terrorism” against civilians.

In response to accusations that ⁠Wildberries sells dual-use goods, items that can have both civilian and military uses, Kim said ​the company doesn’t offer anything that is ​not ⁠also available on major global e-commerce platforms such as Amazon or Alibaba.

After previous drone strikes on its facilities, the e-commerce giant issued statements pledging financial support for sellers whose goods were damaged.

The retailer’s ties to the country’s financial sector and the far-reaching economic impact of the strikes is a key factor to consider, experts say.

“Putin said at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that the war would not impact the way Russians lead their lives,” Hecker tells TIME. “But attacking Wildberries impacts the Russian consumer, and this comes on top of inflation, on top of periodic mobile internet outages across Russia.”

While inflation in Russia has climbed down from highs of 9.4% last year, it rose once again to 6% in June—its highest level since January. 

Consumers in Russia are also tackling a summer fuel crisis after Ukraine stepped up its drone attacks on oil refineries.

“It’s difficult now for President Putin to say that the war on Ukraine is not impacting the way ordinary Russians live,” Hecker says, reflecting on the economic blows. “Ukraine has discovered how successfully it can penetrate airspace deep into Russian territory, and I think what it’s doing right now is exploiting that capability.”