Wildberries and other Russian marketplaces ask Kremlin for hundreds of billions after drone strikes
Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex, Avito and Kuper have appealed to the Russian government to provide budget funding to businesses that suffered losses from drone attacks. The proposed measures include direct payments, tax deferrals and the cancellation of late-payment penalties and fines.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Russian media outlets, including Vedomosti and The Moscow Times.
Marketplaces seek direct payments from Russian budget
On 12 August, the Association of Digital Platforms, which includes Russia’s largest marketplaces and online services, sent a letter containing the request to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
One of the key proposals is for direct, non-repayable payments from the federal budget. The amount of assistance would be determined based on each company’s actual losses and the scale of its operations.
Businesses are also asking for tax and other mandatory payments to be deferred or paid in instalments for at least six months. They also propose waiving late-payment penalties and fines for the period during which companies were unable to operate normally.
The Moscow Times estimates that the potential amount of support required could reach hundreds of billions of rubles.
Wildberries and sellers’ losses estimated in hundreds of billions
Wildberries and sellers whose goods were stored at the marketplace’s warehouses suffered the heaviest losses following the series of attacks.
Data Insight estimates that the value of the goods lost could amount to 445–507 billion rubles. The Association of Suppliers of Goods for E-Commerce Platforms cites an even higher figure of 600–700 billion rubles.
Wildberries, which reportedly lost about one-third of its warehouse capacity, may have sustained direct losses of 147–223 billion rubles.
If the demolition of destroyed facilities, waste removal, and land remediation are included, this figure could rise to 278 billion rubles.
It was previously reported that the combined losses suffered by Wildberries and its sellers following the strikes could approach one trillion rubles.
