Tatyana Kim, founder of Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, said the company is not obligated to compensate sellers for losses from recent Ukrainian drone strikes.
She classified the attacks as force majeure.
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Payments made to sellers were voluntary gestures of goodwill, not legal obligations. Nearly 100,000 small and medium-sized business representatives were included in the second round of payments.
For larger partners, Wildberries introduced increased customer discounts and credit holidays through their bank.
In-person meetings in affected regions are planned starting next week, as reported by Russian media outlet The Bell.
Kim did not disclose the total compensation amount.
She highlighted previous payments of 2 million roubles to families of those killed and 1 million roubles to seriously injured individuals.
The parent company RWB confirmed disbursing over 40 million roubles to employees and families impacted by the strikes.
However, these were not reimbursements for destroyed goods.
Kim urged entrepreneurs to develop recovery plans, acknowledging uncertainty about operational continuity following the attacks.
Company Seeks State Assistance
In response to the drone strikes, RWB Group is searching for warehouse facilities in Kazakhstan. The company has appealed to the Russian state for assistance.
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Ukraine's drone campaign targeting Wildberries and other logistics centers aims to disrupt Russia's wartime economy and supply chains.
This increases financial pressure on Russian businesses.
Researcher Natalya Kovaleva of Chatham House stated, "Ukraine's hope is that by raising the cost of war for Russian businesses, internal opposition will mount and Putin may be forced to the negotiating table."
