WILDBERRIES AND OZON FACE WAVE OF SELLER LAWSUITS AFTER WAREHOUSE STRIKES
Russia’s two largest online marketplaces are facing a growing legal backlash from sellers following Ukrainian drone attacks that destroyed or damaged logistics centers containing enormous quantities of merchandise.
According to Kommersant, 599 lawsuits were filed against Wildberries’ legal entity between July 15 and September 15—an increase of 53.6% from the same period last year. Ozon’s legal entity was named in another 236 lawsuits, more than twice last year’s number.
Behind those numbers are thousands of small businesses that may be unable to recover the full value of what they lost. Many sellers had most of their inventory stored inside the affected warehouses, with industry representatives claiming that some lost as much as 95% of their merchandise.
Sellers are now disputing attempts by the marketplaces to classify the destruction as force majeure or deny responsibility for stored goods. Even where insurance coverage exists, initial payments may represent only part of the inventory’s value, with final compensation delayed until extensive inspections and calculations are completed.
Cash-flow problems are spreading as well. In one survey, 95.6% of participating Wildberries sellers said they had not received money owed for the July 27–August 2 settlement period. Sellers also reported delayed payments, withheld funds and uncertainty over whether destroyed stock would ever be fully reimbursed. Wildberries blamed some payment delays on DDoS attacks.
Industry representatives estimate that more than 400,000 sellers were affected. Potential losses for Wildberries, its infrastructure and its sellers have been placed between 600 and 800 billion rubles, although this remains an industry estimate that includes lost future income as well as physical damage.
Ozon’s insurer has begun preliminary payments to 50,000 affected sellers, with approximately 90,000 expected to receive an initial payment. However, those early payments do not necessarily cover the full value of everything lost.
The consequences now stretch far beyond burned warehouses: destroyed livelihoods, interrupted deliveries, missing payments, insurance disputes and hundreds of lawsuits. For many sellers, the goods disappeared in a fire—but the debts, operating expenses and customer obligations remained.