Wildberries passes the torch: Ozon warehouses ablaze in three Russian cities

This has been reported by Russian media outlets and Ozon.

Ozon stated that the warehouse in Ufa sustained “minor damage.” It is currently closed and is not accepting deliveries from sellers.

According to the company, the distribution center in Orenburg has already resumed operations. However, it will not accept some goods on August 27. There were no casualties.

Ozon’s losses from the attacks on its infrastructure are estimated at 30–62.5 billion rubles, while sellers’ losses could amount to 88.5–107 billion rubles.

Ukrainian “long-range sanctions”

Since mid-July, Ukrainian drones have been attacking the logistics infrastructure of Wildberries, Russia’s largest marketplace.

Over the course of more than a month, more than 20 of the company’s distribution centers in 16 regions of Russia were targeted. At least 7 of Wildberries’ 10 largest warehouses were put out of commission. Among them is the company’s largest warehouse in Koledino, near Moscow.

Attacks on Ozon began on August 22. The first strike targeted a facility in Chapaev, Samara Oblast, followed the next day by a warehouse in Orenburg. On August 24, four warehouses were attacked simultaneously—in Makhachkala, Krasnodar, Adygea, and Nevinnomyssk.

Analysts at Data Insight estimated Wildberries’ losses from the destroyed warehouses at 147–223 billion rubles. Losses for the marketplace’s sellers, according to their estimates, could have amounted to an additional 445–507 billion rubles. In other words, the total losses for Wildberries and its sellers could have reached 800 billion rubles.

As a reminder, Ozon’s stock plummeted by nearly 30% following the Ukrainian strikes. In just a few minutes, the company lost about 185 billion rubles in market capitalization, which is equivalent to approximately $2.2 billion. Following this plunge, the Moscow Exchange urgently suspended trading in Ozon shares.