Wildberries Removes Financial Liability for War-Related...

Wildberries Removes Financial Liability for War-Related Losses

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 on Tuesday, the company will not compensate sellers for losses under force majeure circumstances that include artillery, drone and missile strikes, as well as political protests, labor strikes and riots. This change shifts the entire risk of such events onto the sellers who use the platform.

Previous Agreement Lacked Detailed Force Majeure Provisions

According to TV Rain, earlier versions of the vendor agreement did not define force majeure circumstances in such detail. The updated language explicitly lists military attacks and civil disturbances as events that release Wildberries from compensation obligations. Sellers previously could claim payments for inventory damaged during extraordinary events, but the new terms eliminate that option when the cause falls under the expanded force majeure list.

The policy takes effect this week across Wildberries operations, which include hundreds of warehouses handling millions of orders daily. The company was founded by Tatyana Bakalchuk and grew from a small online clothing shop into Russia's largest online retailer.

Moscow-Region Warehouse Evacuated After Suspected Drone Strike

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 showed smoke billowing from the building following a suspected drone strike. Wildberries has not said what caused the smoke. The Moscow region houses the company's largest distribution hubs, making the evacuation particularly significant for daily operations.

Russian authorities have reported increased Ukrainian drone activity reaching areas previously considered safe from direct strikes. The Moscow-region incident highlighted how such events can now affect major commercial infrastructure inside Russia.

Commission Fees Rise by 10 to 20 Percent

In a separate corporate policy change also taking effect this week, Wildberries will raise merchant commission fees by 10 to 20 percent across several product categories and operational models. Wildberries said in a statement that the current economic situation, particularly the significant rise in fuel prices and the resulting increase in logistics costs, directly affects operational expenses.

The fee increases add to the financial pressure already created by the new force majeure rules. Sellers must now absorb both higher commissions and the full cost of any inventory lost to military or civil unrest events.

Small Sellers Face Heightened Uncertainty

Small and medium-sized sellers who rely on Wildberries for the majority of their sales are now facing uncertainty. Under the old agreement, these merchants could claim compensation for inventory damaged during extraordinary events. The new policy shifts that risk entirely onto sellers, many of whom operate on thin margins and lack alternative sales channels of comparable scale.

These sellers must now decide whether to continue using the platform or seek other distribution methods while bearing the full cost of potential losses from drone strikes or civil disturbances. The change affects merchants across multiple Russian regions who depend on Wildberries warehouses for storage and order fulfillment.

War Economy Drives Fuel Prices and Logistics Costs

The broader context includes Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, which has brought drone strikes and missile attacks to regions previously considered safe, including the Moscow region. Ukrainian drone capabilities have expanded significantly, with Kyiv claiming it can strike targets across western Russia. Fuel price increases cited by Wildberries have been driven by Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russia's gasoline production dropped by 25 percent after several large refineries were forced to shut down. Fuel prices have climbed 9.8 percent since the start of the year, with a record single-week surge of 3 percent.

These developments reflect how the war economy directly raises costs for Russian businesses and consumers. Higher fuel prices increase logistics expenses for companies like Wildberries, which then pass some of those costs to merchants through higher commissions while simultaneously limiting their own liability for war-related damage.