Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign has targeted a critical vulnerability: Wildberries, Russia’s e-commerce giant. Far beyond a civilian marketplace, Wildberries functions as a dual-use logistics network supplying Russian troops with FPV drone parts and tactical gear. By systematically destroying major distribution hubs from Ryazan to St. Petersburg, Ukrainian strikes are crippling small businesses, spiking inflation, and forcing Kremlin-backed financial bailouts—bringing the economic reality of war directly home to Russia.
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Ukrainian Drones Destroy Ryazan Wildberries Warehouse
01:10 - Ukraine Drone Strikes Hit 12 Wildberries Warehouses
02:50 - Wildberries CEO Tatyana Kim Denies Military Sales
05:00 - How Wildberries Sells SVO Military Gear Online
06:15 - Wildberries Powers 90 Percent Active Russian Population
07:45 - Ukraine Strikes Cause $3.5B Wildberries Stock Loss
09:20 - Kremlin Prepares VTB Bank Wildberries Bailout Plan
11:15 - Will Wildberries Strikes Collapse the Russian Economy?
Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join
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SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/7RXhc0p8
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Ukrainian Drones Destroy Ryazan Wildberries Warehouse
01:10 - Ukraine Drone Strikes Hit 12 Wildberries Warehouses
02:50 - Wildberries CEO Tatyana Kim Denies Military Sales
05:00 - How Wildberries Sells SVO Military Gear Online
06:15 - Wildberries Powers 90 Percent Active Russian Population
07:45 - Ukraine Strikes Cause $3.5B Wildberries Stock Loss
09:20 - Kremlin Prepares VTB Bank Wildberries Bailout Plan
11:15 - Will Wildberries Strikes Collapse the Russian Economy?
Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join
#militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis
#themilitaryshow
SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/7RXhc0p8
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Ukraine just keeps on picking those wild berries. The warehouses and logistics infrastructure of
00:05Russia's largest online retailer continue to burn, as Ukraine rains a hailstorm of drones
00:12onto them. The company's CEO is furious. Russian entrepreneurs who rely on wild berries for their
00:18businesses and customers who purchase from the site are frothing with even more rage.
00:23But as for Putin, he's worried, and he should be. That's because Ukraine's wild berries strikes
00:29aren't just about shattering one of Russia's largest domestic e-commerce companies. It goes
00:34deeper than that. These strikes are the catalyst for something that nobody expected, the complete
00:40collapse of the Russian economy. We head first to Ryazan. In this city, only a couple hundred
00:46kilometers from the Russian capital, Moscow, sits the fifth largest logistics hub belonging to wild
00:51berries. Or should we say sat? It isn't there anymore. The hub, which is part of a massive network
00:58operated by a company that is often referred to as Russia's version of Amazon, lies in ruins after a
01:04devastating Ukrainian drone strike tore it to pieces. Black smoke rose over the warehouse following
01:09the attack, which was so massive that it tore through the building's roof and even ignited a
01:14nearby oil refinery. Emergency evacuations were triggered, wild berries employees were evacuated,
01:21and even some casualties were reported. But the headline for Ukraine was that it had just cost
01:26wild berries millions, perhaps even billions of dollars, with an attack designed to be part of
01:31a larger strategy to paralyze the gray market giant that plays a bigger role in Russia's war economy
01:36than Putin ever wants to admit. What happened in Ryazan has been happening all over Russia.
01:42Wild berries facilities are going down left, right and center. The numbers vary, but the results are the
01:47same. On August 2nd, Technology.org reported that Ukraine had successfully hit 11 of wild berries 25
01:55Russian warehouses. The new voice of Ukraine put the number at 12, likely because it counted an attack
02:01against a facility in Russia's Vladimir region on August 3rd that happened after the Technology.org
02:06article. The new voice of Ukraine also said that this Vladimir strike meant that Ukraine had hit 12 of the
02:12company's 15 largest warehouses, suggesting that Ukraine is following a strategy of taking out the
02:18biggest facilities first, then it's going to work its way down to the rest. In fact, it's already doing
02:23that. On August 4th came another attack. This time, Ukraine's drones found their mark at two wild berries
02:29warehouses, along with attacking another logistical site that is reported to be part of the company's
02:34network near Moscow. This time, Ukraine struck warehouses in the Tver and St. Petersburg regions.
02:40The latter strike will really rattle Putin. St. Petersburg is his hometown. It's one of the jewels
02:46in the Russian crown, and it's meant to be one of the most well-defended cities in the entire country.
02:51None of that mattered on August 4th, as there seemed to be nothing in place to protect the city's
02:56wild berries warehouse. And even as we were in the process of creating this video, more strikes were
03:02happening. August 5th brought with it news of attacks against wild berries warehouses in Tatarstan
03:07and Tula, with the same results that we've been seeing for the last few weeks. Massive fires,
03:13plumes of smoke, untold amounts of products that were supposed to be sold via wild berries
03:17getting destroyed. By the time you're watching this video, Ukraine may have carried out even more
03:22strikes. The damage done is still being calculated, likely because it changes every day as more
03:28warehouses burn. On August 4th, AA suggested that potential losses to wild berries sellers may be as
03:34high as $3.5 billion already, none of which has been repaid to the sellers by wild berries.
03:40The company has spent around $500,000 on compensation, though that money has been sent
03:45to the families of those who have been injured or killed in Ukraine's attacks.
03:49That mention of victims does bring up a possible moral gray area. Russia will argue that civilians
03:54are dying in the wild berry strikes. That's certainly the argument put forth by wild berry CEO,
03:59Russia's richest woman, and a Putin supporter, Tatyana Kim. In a statement that reads as much
04:05as a desperate plea for Ukraine to stop as it is a condemnation of the strikes, Kim declared,
04:10when attacking us, terrorists cover up their true motives and accuse us of allegedly selling
04:15military goods. But you can go to any global marketplace like Amazon or Alibaba and see if
04:20we have what they don't. There's no logic, common sense, or rationality in the terrorists' actions,
04:25and there can be none. A few things about that statement, Kim. There's nothing alleged about it
04:30when it comes to selling military goods. Wild berries does it, it's been doing it for years,
04:35and we're going to show you how deep that rabbit hole goes in a moment. But it's the references to
04:39global marketplaces and there being no logic to Ukraine's strikes that are the most ridiculous
04:43statements made. Kim can talk about Amazon and Alibaba all she wants, but she conveniently ignores the
04:49fact that neither has a presence in Russia, and despite what they sell, neither is actively supporting
04:54Putin's invasion efforts against Ukraine. As for no logic, it's quite the opposite. There's plenty
04:59of logic. Russia's economists can tell you that, as will we. Now let's get back to this whole
05:05allegedly selling military goods angle that Kim makes. The Kiev Post ran an interesting expose
05:10on what Wild Berries sells as around the same time as Ukraine began its Wild Berries attacks.
05:15Before those strikes, you could type in the word drone and find a massive selection of drones,
05:20including Mavic 3 and Mavic 4 drones that are easily converted into FPV strike drones plastered
05:26all over Wild Berries. You could also find plenty of quadcopters labeled as FPV in a clear signal to
05:32soldiers who use these types of drones on the front. Searching a little deeper, it was possible to find
05:37payload retention and bomb release mechanisms for these drones, often hidden away in nondescript
05:42categories such as electronics or auto parts. And in the clothing section of Wild Berries, you didn't have to
05:48look far to find tactical gear such as chest rigs that are worn over body armor and can be used
05:53to
05:53store magazines for rifles. There was even a category on Wild Berries for the special military
05:58operation. As we said, there's nothing alleged about what Ukraine claims Wild Berries sells.
06:04However, we use the past tense in that little segment for a reason. Wild Berries has been working
06:08hard to scrub any traces of these items off its online storefront, likely to prop up Kim's claim
06:14that Ukraine alleges military hardware is sold but doesn't have proof. On July 26, the Kiev Independent
06:19reported that military goods sold on Wild Berries are being hidden in search results. The goods are
06:24still technically there, but Wild Berries is trying to make it seem as though they aren't by making it
06:28harder for customers to find them. Specifically, Wild Berries has started hiding results for search
06:32terms like SVO, which is the Russian abbreviation for the special military operation. This is a weak
06:38attempt to hide what the platform has sold in the past and continues to sell now if you look hard
06:42enough. Before Ukraine strikes, a search for everything for the SVO returned over 200,000
06:48results, the Moscow Times says. Now, it's zilch. Nada. Nothing. But there's a catch. All that Wild
06:55Berries has really done is blacklisted the SVO abbreviation. All of the products that would have
06:59popped up for these types of searches are still available on Wild Berries, says United24 Media.
07:04You just have to use different search terms to find them. The outlet says that a Russian media
07:09source named BokTak has proven that by finding helmets marked as tested in the SVO by using
07:16other keywords. And the SVO blacklisting doesn't even work well. Searches for SVO goods, SVO
07:22supplies, and SVO accessories still produce results. If Kim's goal is to reinforce her argument that the
07:29Wild Berries strikes serve no military purpose, then she isn't doing a good job of it with this half-cocked
07:34attempt to hide the military products that are sold on her platform. They're still there,
07:38they can be found and bought just as they could before. Well, some of them can be. A lot of
07:43what
07:43was being sold is little more than ashes in the ruins of warehouses now, all due to Ukraine's
07:48attacks. We clearly see a military purpose behind Ukraine's Wild Berries strikes, which immediately
07:54contradicts Kim's claims there is no logic to what's happening. But it goes much deeper than that,
07:59almost to the point where taking military hardware off the market is a bonus, rather than the main
08:03objective. For Ukraine, it's what these strikes have triggered in Russia that is the real goal.
08:09Economic damage is what Ukraine wants, and boy, has it achieved that damage.
08:14But before we go deeper and highlight why Wild Berries strikes change everything for the Kremlin,
08:18this is a reminder that you're watching the military show. If you're getting insight from
08:22our channel, then remember to subscribe and activate notifications so you see more of what we have
08:27coming up. Wild Berries is vital for Russia's economy. Certainly far more important than the Kremlin
08:33would ever want to admit. Remember that this is the Russian version of Amazon, and like Amazon,
08:38Wild Berries basically serves as a hub for thousands upon thousands of business owners,
08:43who all rely on the platform for sales and the warehouses for stocking and shipping the products
08:47their customers purchase. Wild Berries isn't just an online retailer, it's a massive logistics network
08:53that a huge portion of the Russian economy relies upon. Around 10% of the company's warehouse space has
08:58been destroyed by Ukraine's attacks by July 29, along with the stock that space held. The percentage
09:05will be much higher now as Ukraine's relentless attacks have continued. Sellers are already cracking
09:10as they lose big. One seller told the BBC that she'd lost almost $13,000 of stock, and another said,
09:17we're already getting screwed over from every direction as it is. Wild Berries, along with its main
09:22rival Ozone, is used by up to 90% of Russia's economically active population. This is no small
09:28business that Ukraine is targeting. For many in Russia, Wild Berries is everything. It's their source
09:32of income, where they get their clothes and accessories they use at home, and one of their key lifelines
09:38in a war that has unexpectedly arrived at their doorstep. And that's the point. None of this economic
09:43pain at the personal level is accidental. Ukraine wants to inflict it. Unlike Russia, Ukraine doesn't
09:49target civilians directly with its drone strikes. What it can do is attack militarily relevant
09:54facilities that also happen to be used by civilians, and Wild Berries falls under that umbrella.
09:59This is Ukraine bringing the war back home to Russia, and it's an incredibly effective technique.
10:05Damage a linchpin of the Russian economy and the people who rely on that linchpin get angry.
10:10Perhaps so angry that they'll call on Putin to end his insane war.
10:14Sellers are losing out big now that so many Wild Berries warehouses are burning.
10:18We mentioned the $3.5 billion in destroyed stock already. That will obviously hurt Wild Berries.
10:24But that's $3.5 billion of money that the platform sellers won't be making,
10:28which also means that it's $3.5 billion that could have been spent on things like building
10:33businesses, hiring employees, or just covering the day-to-day expenses of Russians who relied
10:38on Wild Berries to make a living. According to Medusa, Wild Berries has recently started
10:43offering some compensation to its sellers, but not much. Only small companies and individual
10:48entrepreneurs have received anything from the company, and what they receive is only a fraction
10:53of the value of the products that they've lost. Support keeps on being promised, but it's yet to
10:57come in any meaningful fashion. And as more time goes on, a lot of Russia's small businesses are going
11:03to collapse due to cash flow issues. As for buyers, what can we say other than,
11:08the rules of supply and demand are a b****? Imagine what would happen if Amazon lost a bunch
11:14of its warehouses in fires, taking stock with it. Supply would fall off a cliff,
11:18and suddenly that $10 top you were planning on buying would cost $20. That's basic supply and
11:23demand economics, and Russians who use Wild Berries are already feeling the impact of Ukraine's
11:27strikes on their bank balances. In an August 1st report, the Key Post revealed that prices on
11:32Wild Berries had surged by between 10% and 30%. This is inflation at warp speed, and it's only
11:38going to get worse as more of Wild Berries' locations go down under Ukrainian drone fire.
11:43Companies that sell via Wild Berries are doing everything they can to cover spiraling costs,
11:48including cancelling discounts and choosing cheaper delivery options. What Ukraine has found
11:53here is perhaps one of the most unexpected pressure points of the entire war so far.
11:58Ukraine's goal is to cripple Russia economically, ensuring that Putin can't fund his invasion in
12:03the process. Wild Berries for so long had been untouched. What we're quickly finding out is that
12:09these attacks could be the key that unlocks the door to Russia's economic ruin. Wild Berries is a
12:14choke point for a huge portion of the Russian economy, DW News points out. It's also a company
12:19that carries $10 billion worth of debt, which it can do solely because it's supported by Russia's
12:24state-owned banks. This is where we see a link to Putin's war chest emerge. If Putin wants to keep
12:30Wild Berries running, and he should due to the impact this platform has on the lives of his people,
12:35then he is going to have to tell the banks to bail the company out. That money has to come
12:39from
12:40somewhere, and it will be the same sources that Russia relies upon to fund the war. And if Putin
12:45chooses not to help Wild Berries with state funds, he risks causing a domino effect of economic
12:49catastrophe. Wild Berries will collapse, the businesses owned by its many sellers will follow
12:55suit, and consumers who are already dealing with supply and demand issues can do nothing as their
13:00alternatives all jack up their prices because one of their biggest competitors has crumbled into dust.
13:05It's a lose-lose situation for Putin, just as Ukraine planned it.
13:10It seems like Putin and his state-run banking system have already made their collective choice.
13:14In a July 29th report, CNBC revealed that the Kremlin has already acknowledged that it will
13:20likely need to step in to prop up Wild Berries while these attacks are ongoing, and that the
13:24state-controlled bank VTB will likely play a crucial role in what would inevitably become a bail-out
13:30program implemented at a cost to the Russian taxpayer. Other banks, such as SpareBank, have announced
13:35loan restructuring programs targeted at Wild Berries investors because it's terrified that the loss of
13:40more warehouses could lead to a spate of bankruptcies would put the bank in a very bad position of losing
13:46out on thousands of loans that it has approved for Wild Berries sellers. In an August 4th report,
13:51Global Data added that the Kremlin is now looking at programs to support vendors, likely for the same
13:56reasons as SpareBank. Several options are being discussed. Sellers may be allowed to suspend loan
14:01repayments for up to a year, which we're sure Russia's banks are going to love. There's the restructuring
14:06we mentioned earlier, along with subsidized working capital loans offered through microfinance
14:11institutions with state backing. So, more loans on top of the loans that vendors can't pay.
14:16The Kremlin is scrambling for solutions. And every passing day only makes the situation worse because
14:22Ukraine's drones just won't stop coming. Ukraine has opened up a brand new front in the war with
14:26Russia, and it's a front that is confined within Russia itself. This is an attack on the country's
14:32logistics. It's the destruction of military hardware coupled with the economic pressure being placed on
14:37vendors, buyers, and banks. Every attack that Ukraine carries out doesn't only incur costs related
14:42to lost stock and rebuilding. Wild Berries and Russia itself, if the state-backed solutions come
14:48into play, has to figure out how to deal with increased business operating costs, loan servicing
14:53due to cash flow issues, and sellers who may migrate to other platforms after losing so much with
14:58wild berries. As we said, it's a domino effect. If wild berries falls, it takes a huge chunk of
15:04Russia's economy with it. On the back end of all this are inflationary risks, which we're already
15:09starting to see come into play. RBC Ukraine also points out that the median revenue of a wild berries
15:14vendor is just $7,500, which means they don't have much wiggle room financially. A week or two's worth
15:22of shocks can be enough to push many of these small business owners into negative cash flow situations,
15:26and that's happening as we speak. All of this couldn't have come as a worse time for Russia,
15:31which is already dealing with a difficult economic situation that reveals just how much of a mistake
15:37Putin made by transforming the country's economy with his focus on the military-industrial complex.
15:42In a July 13th report before the wild berry strikes began, Forbes labeled Russia's economy as one that
15:48is slowly sinking. It's difficult to argue that point. In 2026, Russia itself predicts that its economy
15:55will only grow by 0.4%, which puts the country on the edge of a recession.
16:00This is also an optimistic projection. Forbes says that Putin's war is going to run at least
16:05$28 billion over budget in 2026, and that number will rise by a further $54 billion in both 2027 and
16:122028. The only reason why Russia isn't doing worse than it already is in 2026 is that the war in
16:18Iran
16:18gives it a slight reprieve due to its impact on oil prices. Without that, Russia would be in even more
16:24economic trouble. Losing wild berries or having to spend billions on supporting it only adds to
16:29these problems. Will the destruction of wild berries warehouses alone be enough to cripple
16:34the Russian economy? No. But this strategy is another piece of the puzzle locked into place by
16:39Ukraine. So if Kim is looking for the logic in all of this, she just found it. Wild berries is
16:44a
16:44target for all of the reasons we just explained. Kim got into bed with Putin. She's just woken up to
16:49discover that her company's warehouses are being covered in drone-shaped explosive fleas.
16:54There's another element to the wild berry strikes that we've only touched on here.
16:57Ukraine wants to cause economic turmoil in Russia, sure. But it also wants that turmoil to serve the
17:03purpose of pressuring Russia's people into turning against Putin. The psychological blow is as important
17:09as the economic one. And you can find out why if you watch our video. And if you enjoyed this
17:13video,
17:14don't forget to subscribe to The Military Show as we track every key event in the war between Russia
17:18and Ukraine. And thank you for watching.
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