Over the past month, Ukrainian forces have carried out a series of strikes on the facilities of Russia’s largest online marketplace, Wildberries. As with previous attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, including that of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the consequences are again being felt by citizens and businesses in neighboring countries, highlighting the extent to which the war’s economic effects now extend far beyond the battlefield.
Since July 18, Ukrainian strikes have hit Wildberries logistics facilities in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Crimea, as well as in Tver and Tambov Oblasts.
According to the Russian business daily Kommersant, the attacks damaged logistics facilities representing more than 10% of Wildberries’ total warehouse floor space, with a combined area exceeding 550,000 square meters.
Alongside Wildberries, another major Russian marketplace, Ozon, also operates in Kazakhstan. Its logistics network has so far not been affected by similar attacks.
Together, the two companies account for more than 85% of Kazakhstan’s cross-border online marketplace segment, according to data presented in June by Mazhilis deputy Aituar Koshmambetov during parliamentary discussions on the development of e-commerce.
E-commerce has become one of Kazakhstan’s fastest-growing sectors, expanding roughly fivefold since 2020. The market was valued at $6.7 billion in 2025, and the government aims to increase that figure to $19.5 billion by 2029.
Against that backdrop, Kazakh sellers were always likely to be affected sooner or later.
On Tuesday, Kazakhstan’s National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Atameken, said it had begun collecting information on Kazakh businesses affected by the attacks on Wildberries facilities in Russia. According to preliminary estimates by the Ecommerce-KZ Association, more than 100 member companies suffered losses as a result of fires at the marketplace’s logistics centers. Their combined losses exceed $2.1 million.
Following an request from Atameken to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration, the ministry has approached Russian authorities and the Wildberries for further information.
For neighboring Kyrgyzstan, the situation surrounding Wildberries has proved even more painful. Compensation for lost goods is now being discussed at the level of the country’s economy minister, who is negotiating with the marketplace’s management.
Much of Kyrgyzstan’s garment industry and trading sector now depend on Wildberries. According to the country’s association of garment manufacturers, individual producers have suffered losses ranging from 1 million to 100 million Kyrgyz soms, or approximately $11,400 to $1.14 million.
While businesses in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are counting their losses, Wildberries itself appears to be reconsidering its logistics strategy. According to a report in Kommersant, the company has begun searching for vacant warehouse space in Kazakhstan and is prepared to lease virtually all of the country’s available modern warehouse capacity.
According to NF Group, only 5.8% of Kazakhstan’s modern warehouse space was vacant at the end of 2025. Stanislav Akhmedzyanov, managing partner at IBC Global, said the Kazakh market has no single warehouse facility of 100,000 square meters, which is reportedly the amount of space Wildberries requires. As of the end of June 2026, only 130,000 square meters of warehouse space remained available across the country, scattered among different cities rather than concentrated in one location.
Wildberries has nevertheless confirmed that it is carrying out a large-scale restructuring of its internal logistics network in an effort to protect its business operations from possible disruptions. Several projects in Kazakhstan are slated to be completed in the near future, including major logistics complexes in Almaty and Astana. The latter will reportedly become Wildberries’ largest logistics hub in Kazakhstan.
Whether the disruption proves temporary or develops into a longer-term shift in regional logistics remains unclear. What is already evident, however, is that the war is imposing growing economic costs well beyond Russia and Ukraine. As cross-border supply chains become increasingly vulnerable to military strikes, businesses in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are discovering that their dependence on Russian logistics infrastructure carries risks over which they have little control. For Wildberries, the attacks may accelerate efforts to diversify its distribution network into neighboring countries. For Central Asian businesses, they serve as another reminder that the economic consequences of the war are no longer confined by national borders.
