Wildberries Stops Compensating Sellers for Products Damaged in Airstrikes

Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, has updated its vendor partnership agreement to remove its financial liability for goods lost or damaged during missile strikes, drone attacks and civil unrest.

Starting Tuesday, July 7, Wildberries will not be required to compensate sellers under force majeure circumstances resulting from artillery, drone and missile strikes, as well as political protests, labor strikes and riots.

According to the exiled broadcaster TV Rain, previous versions of the vendor agreement did not define force majeure circumstances in such detail.

The policy shift follows a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow last month that ignited a major oil refinery. That same day, Wildberries evacuated one of its Moscow-region warehouses after eyewitness videos surfaced showing smoke billowing from the building following a suspected drone strike.

Wildberries has not said what caused the smoke.

In a separate corporate policy change also taking effect next week, the retailer will raise merchant commission fees by 10% to 20% across several product categories and operational models.

“The current economic situation, particularly the significant rise in fuel prices and the resulting increase in logistics costs, directly affects operational expenses,” Wildberries said in a statement.