7 August 2026Russia does not have sufficient funds to rescue the affected sellers of the Wildberries marketplace, a source close to the Kremlin told Reuters. At least 20 Wildberries logistics hubs and warehouses were raided by drones, and some burned to the ground. Another problem is that a significant portion of Wildberries sellers are sole proprietors (SPs). How the authorities plan to rescue Wildberries remains unclear: the federal budget ended the first half of the year with a deficit of 5.7 trillion rubles, 1.5 times higher than the full-year target. By the end of the year, the deficit could widen to 7 trillion rubles, according to the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASF) forecast, and to 8.2 trillion, according to the Central Bank of Russia.