On July 29, 2026, smoke rises as firefighters extinguish a fire at the Wildberry logistics hub following a Ukrainian military drone attack in Russia’s Ryazan region. According to reports, at least six people were injured and a fire broke out at a local factory as a result of the attack.
Ukraine Online Telegram Channel | Anadolu | Getty Images
Ukraine’s drone attack on Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, has ratcheted up pressure on Moscow’s wartime economy, as Kiev seeks to force President Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table after nearly four-and-a-half years of war.
Ukraine is targeting major distribution centers in countries such as Russia. AmazonThe style retail giant was created as part of an effort to significantly disrupt Russia’s supply chains and increase the financial burden facing Russian banks and businesses.
This marks a significant change in the Ukrainian military’s approach following months of long-range drone strikes targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Wildberries said it had evacuated its warehouse in the central Russian city of Ryazan on Wednesday morning after Ukrainian drones attacked several industrial facilities.
Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed sources, that the Russian government has acknowledged it may need to help Wildberries, with state bank VTB expected to play a key role. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request from CNBC for comment.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Sberbank has reportedly developed a loan restructuring program for wild berry sellers amid concerns that the Ukrainian attack could trigger a wave of bankruptcies of small and medium-sized businesses.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Russian companies have faced a number of war-related disruptions, said Natalya Kovaleva, a research fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House.
“Western sanctions have disrupted supply chains; increased taxes have squeezed profit margins; internet blackouts have disrupted operations; and recent fuel shortages have increased costs and increased inflationary pressures,” Kovaleva said in an online post on Tuesday.
“Russian executives have largely absorbed these shocks. But Ukraine’s attack on Wildberry marks an important new development, reflecting Kiev’s broader efforts to ratchet up economic pressure on businesses and ordinary Russians.”
Kovaleva said Ukraine’s hope is that raising Russian companies’ war spending will increase domestic opposition and force Putin to come to the negotiating table, or at least stop shelling Ukrainian cities.
“It remains to be seen whether this strategy will have the desired effect. Even as it has become more difficult to do business in Russia, the country’s elites seem to be more dependent and wary of the Kremlin than ever before,” Kovaleva said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the warehouse targeted by the Ukrainian drone was involved in providing drone parts, navigation equipment and other military components to the Russian military.
Wildberries is Russia’s largest online retailer and comparable to the US e-commerce giant Amazon. The company was founded in 2004 and currently has approximately 48,000 employees.
“Russia is vulnerable”
Analysts have warned that Russia’s economy is potentially vulnerable to the prospect of sweeping sanctions by the United States, along with attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s logistics hubs.
President Zelenskiy said he had a “good meeting” with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, during which they discussed licensing the production of Patriot interceptor missiles and the importance of reinvigorating the diplomatic process.
The meeting took place as the US war against Iran and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine are both reaching critical junctures. Trump suspended airstrikes on Iran as part of an effort to give diplomacy another chance, but President Zelensky was buoyed by a series of successful strikes on Russian territory.
President Trump and President Zelensky’s meeting comes as a bill sponsored by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham passes its first hurdle in the Senate and Congress steps up a new push to tighten sanctions against Moscow.
In this pool photo distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin (center), accompanied by Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov (left), Irkutsk Aviation Plant Director Andrei Soinov (second from left), and Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev (second from right), visits the Irkutsk Aviation Plant in Irkutsk on July 24, 2026.
Vyacheslav Prokofiev | AFP | Getty Images
“The Russian economy is stalling,” Elina Rybakova, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Wednesday.
“Growth this year will be zero percent. At best, the economy contracted in the first quarter, and industrial production also contracted. The contraction in industrial production means that the defense sector has also slowed down significantly. Russia is therefore vulnerable.”
Rybakova said Russia’s energy sanctions law could have a “huge impact” on Putin’s wartime economy, especially at a time when the conflict between Russia and Iran appears to be winding down.
Kiev launched an attack on an Iranian commercial ship in the Caspian Sea on Saturday, with the Iranian government saying one sailor was killed and several others injured. The Islamic Republic has threatened to retaliate over the attack.
“What’s driving this is still the connection with Iran,” Rybakova said. He added that the fact that Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz is pushing up oil prices, and of course giving Russia another means to continue fighting in Ukraine.
