August 4, 2026
Russian marketplace Wildberries is accelerating its expansion into Kazakhstan, trying to save capital amid a series of Ukrainian strikes on its logistics centers in Russia.
This is reported by Radio Liberty.Asia.
According to him, the total area of the two new logistics centers will exceed 260 thousand m 2 . In Almaty, Wildberries is building a complex with an area of about 170 thousand m 2 , and in Astana – another approximately 100 thousand m 2 .
In addition, the company is looking for additional warehouse space in Kazakhstan with a total area of about 100 thousand m 2 . Currently, the marketplace rents about 46 thousand m 2 of warehouses in the country.
Formally, Astana emphasizes that these projects were announced several years ago and are not related to drone attacks on Russian territory. However, the increase in investments coincided with a series of attacks on the company’s logistics infrastructure.
Yes, the company is moving part of its infrastructure and capital outside of Russia, trying to reduce risks.
On Tuesday, August 4, one of Wildberries’ largest warehouses near St. Petersburg came under attack. This brings the number of damaged logistics centers of the company to 17.
Attacks on the largest Wildberries facilities as of August 3
It was previously reported that as of August 3, Ukrainian attacks had hit 16 of Wildberries’ largest logistics centers. Of these, 11 facilities were completely destroyed, while another 5 suffered significant damage. Another 8 large centers of the largest Russian marketplace remain intact.
According to Russian Forbes, according to estimates by analyst at the Data Insight research agency Sergey Semko, as of August 2, the total area of Wildberries warehouses that were hit was from 1.21 to 1.47 million sq. m. Damage was recorded on an area of from 893 thousand to 1.154 million sq. m., which corresponds to 17.2–22.2% of the total area of RWB’s logistics infrastructure, which the company previously estimated at 5.2 million sq. m.
A series of strikes on Wildberries logistics centers began in July 2026. Warehouses in Elektrostal and Kotovsk were among the first to come under attack, after which drones struck a logistics complex in Koledin in the Moscow region.
Later, attacks were reported on the company’s facilities in Krasnodar, Nevinnomyssk, Nechaivka, Tver, Yekaterinburg, and occupied Simferopol. Also on July 29, drones attacked a Wildberries warehouse in Ryazan, and on the night of July 30, sorting centers in the Penza region and Udmurtia came under attack.
And on July 31, Telegram channels reported explosions in Kazan and Ryazan, as well as a possible attack on the company’s logistics center in Zelenodolsk, Tatarstan. On August 2, the Wildberries hub in Novosimeykin, Samara Oblast, was attacked.
On Monday, August 3, drones attacked the Wildberries logistics center in the Vladimir region.
Attacks on Wildberries are the path to the decline of the Russian economy
Earlier, journalist Vitaly Portnikov reported that strikes on Russia’s logistics centers could lead to a rapid collapse of the Russian economy.
“If we manage to destroy most of the warehouses of Wildberries and other similar companies in the Russian Federation, we can really put Russia on the level of an economic catastrophe. Maybe in the future they will say that it was from July 2026 that these strikes began the real decline and collapse of the Russian economy,” said Vitaly Portnikov.
In his opinion, what sanctions failed to achieve can be achieved by Ukrainian strikes.
Falling shares of competitor Wildberries
Earlier it was reported that the strikes by Ukrainian forces on the infrastructure of Wildberries were a blow not only to one of the largest marketplaces in Russia, but also to an important link in the Russian logistics system. The company is one of the main players in the aggressor country’s e-commerce and relies on an extensive network of warehouses, sorting centers and transport hubs. After this, other key elements of the Russian digital economy may be targeted – the Ozon marketplace and the technology giant Yandex.
One of Wildberries’ biggest competitors, Ozon, is the second largest e-commerce platform in Russia. Its operations also depend on logistics complexes, sorting points, and its own delivery system.
Yandex is a much more difficult target. It is not just a search engine, but an entire digital ecosystem that includes taxi services, delivery, navigation, cloud technologies, and other online platforms.
Amid rising risks to Russian logistics, investors have already begun to react to potential threats. Ozon shares have come under pressure amid concerns about the vulnerability of its warehouse network and its dependence on the stable operation of logistics centers.
Moving to Kazakhstan is not the answer if you want to do business in the mafia state. It increases transportation costs significantly and increases delivery times. But it does move money away from mafia land, and this is always good.
I doubt they can move so much merchandise before Ukraine finishes them off.
I wonder how they will get enough fuel to do so in the first place.
Maybe they have a few pack mules. 😂
“Formally, Astana emphasizes that these projects were announced several years ago and are not related to drone attacks on Russian territory.”
Of course not. They are totally unrelated to 60% of Wildberries being destroyed by Ukraine.
The professional liars at work again.