Russia does not have enough funds to rescue sellers affected by Ukrainian attacks on the Wildberries trading platform warehouses. According to Reuters, what happened to this trading platform, which controls half of the country’s e-commerce market, is a serious blow to the Russian economy.
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According to a Kremlin-linked source cited by the agency, a wave of bankruptcies is expected.
“No one has as much money as needed to support the sellers – we are talking about hundreds of billions of rubles,” the source said.
The problem is further complicated by the fact that a large portion of Wildberries sellers are individual entrepreneurs. Under Russian law, they are personally liable for debts with their property. In other words, those who lost goods not due to their fault and have unpaid loans may lose everything or a large part of their assets.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has proposed that the government change the bankruptcy procedure to prevent such a situation.
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Russian authorities are considering a support package for sellers, although it does not include direct payments to affected individuals. Options under consideration include loan repayment deferrals, concessional loans, and tax relief.
However, it remains unclear how quickly the state will be able to assist sellers who are already facing urgent debt repayments.
Ukrainian drone strikes have destroyed at least 20 Wildberries logistics centers, some of which were completely destroyed. As a result, the company lost 1.18 million square meters of warehouse space.
The impact of these strikes on Wildberries is already being felt at various levels of the Russian economy.
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