Tatyana Kim, Russia’s wealthiest woman and co-founder of the online marketplace Wildberries, is confronting a severe challenge as Ukrainian airstrikes have increasingly targeted her company’s facilities across Russia. Since mid-July, Ukraine has launched a sustained campaign against at least 23 Wildberries warehouses, significantly damaging the e-commerce giant’s infrastructure and raising concerns about the broader impact on the Russian retail sector amid an already strained economy.

Wildberries, founded in 2004 by Kim and her ex-husband Vladislav Bakalchuk, started as an online clothing seller and has since grown into a dominant player in Russia’s consumer market, accounting for about 10 percent of all retail sales. The platform’s extensive network includes nearly 95,000 pickup points nationwide, serving over half of Russia’s population monthly. Kim, aged 50, who was formerly an English teacher and of Korean descent, has steered the company through complex political and business challenges, including a high-profile corporate feud with Bakalchuk that involved a fatal shooting near Moscow’s Red Square.

The recent Ukrainian strikes mark a new phase in the conflict, as Kyiv intensifies its efforts to disrupt Russia’s domestic commerce by targeting a single private enterprise. Ukrainian authorities assert that Wildberries serves as a supplier of goods to Russian military personnel, justifying the attacks as a strategic measure. Wildberries denies these claims, with Kim condemning the airstrikes as “terrorist attacks” against civilians and highlighting the similarity of the products sold to those available on international platforms like Amazon and Alibaba.

The damage to Wildberries has been substantial. According to Moscow-based consultancy Data Insight, the company may have lost up to one-third of its warehouse capacity and approximately 480 billion rubles ($5.9 billion) in inventory. Nine employees have died in the attacks, which have also caused anxiety among staff and independent sellers using the platform. For instance, some marketplace sellers have reported significant inventory losses and emotional distress, while warehouse workers have cited safety concerns amid continued drone strikes.

In response, Wildberries is undertaking efforts to decentralize its logistics network and is actively collaborating with regional governments to mitigate the damage. The company has implemented voluntary payouts to more than 80,000 small and medium-sized sellers and introduced insurance options against drone attacks. The Russian government is reportedly preparing a support package for affected sellers, including tax relief and payment deferrals, according to Deputy Finance Minister Aleksei Sazanov.

The ongoing attacks come at a critical time for the Russian economy, which has already seen decreased consumer spending on non-food items across digital marketplaces. Industry experts note sellers are beginning to migrate to competitors such as Ozon, Russia’s second-largest e-commerce platform, which has a more decentralized system and has not experienced similar targeting.

Despite the challenges, Wildberries retains substantial operational capacity due to its advanced logistics and IT infrastructure. However, the ultimate survival of the enterprise will depend on the duration of Ukraine’s offensive and Kim’s ability to adapt to evolving conditions. Meanwhile, public scrutiny remains, as Ukraine and others highlight the availability on Wildberries of some products that could allegedly support military activities, including drones and related components, though Wildberries maintains a policy forbidding the sale of weapons.

As the conflict persists, Wildberries stands at a crossroads, balancing the demands of its extensive consumer base, the pressures of wartime economics, and the personal toll on its workforce and sellers.