Ukraine’s strikes on ‘Russia’s Amazon’ bring war closer to ordinary Russians
From humble origins as a family business run out of an apartment near Moscow, Wildberries has grown in under two decades into Russia’s top online retailer and a key economic driver in the country. It has now become a target of strikes by Ukraine.
Ukraine has attacked four Wildberries warehouses over the last week in a widening campaign of drone strikes against a company at the heart of Russia’s consumer economy, bringing the war closer to millions of ordinary Russians.
In towns across Russia, pickup points for the company and its leading rival, Ozon, have become ubiquitous. It claims to process 20 million orders a day at vast warehouses spread across the country, with a combined area of 3 million square metres.
Its co-founder Tatyana Kim has become Russia’s richest woman, according to Forbes, with a net worth of US$7 billion.
The attacks threaten serious losses for businesses that sell through Wildberries, Russia’s version of Amazon.com, and potential disruption to customers who use it to buy clothing, appliances, medicines, cosmetics and a host of other products.
Russia, for its part, has attacked Ukrainian infrastructure, logistics and enterprises throughout the 4½-year war.