VTB Bank proceeds with Wildberries deal amid drone attacks

VTB Bank has confirmed that its planned acquisition of a minority stake in the financial unit of the e-commerce giant Wildberries remains on track for September. This announcement comes despite recent Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Wildberries and Ozon logistics infrastructure across Russia.

Dmitry Pianyov, first deputy chairman of VTB, stated that while the drone strikes on logistics hubs are ‘undoubtedly a negative event,’ they do not pose a critical risk to the creditworthiness of the companies involved. He noted that while the attacks could lead to short-term revenue decreases or a shift in credit quality from premium to standard categories, the impact is expected to be temporary.

Separately, Russian authorities reported that a drone strike caused a massive fire at a Wildberries warehouse in the Tambov region, covering an area exceeding 100,000 square meters. Ukraine has targeted these e-commerce facilities, alleging that the companies provide components to the Russian military.