1/ India is ripping off Russia to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars over oil shipments, according to an angry Russian commentary. India will not pay for Russian oil in anything other than Indian rupees and Indian-made goods, which Russian companies don't want. ⬇️
2/ 'Political Report' writes:
"For several years, Russian officials proudly declared that Europe, by rejecting Russian oil, was only harming itself, while Russia continued to quietly sell its oil to other buyers and enrich itself."
3/ "It was claimed that India was happily buying up barrels at favourable prices. Public figures were aired about the colossal profits the country was supposedly receiving from redirecting supplies to the Asian market. The reality turned out to be far from these rosy reports.
4/ "It turned out that Russia not only failed to receive the promised superprofits but also suffered enormous financial losses.
5/ "According to estimates by independent analysts, the losses from the 'Indian partnership' have long been in the hundreds of billions of dollars, not just tens of billions.
Accurate official data is still lacking, but the scale of the problem can no longer be hidden.
6/ "The main stumbling block is the still unresolved issue of settlements in Indian rupees. Billions of rupees earned from the sale of cheap oil have been frozen in Asian bank accounts for five years now.
7/ "India's strict currency controls prevent these funds from being freely transferred to other jurisdictions or converted into dollars, euros, or other freely convertible currencies.
8/ "They can only be used to buy Indian goods, but Russian companies, in most cases, simply don't need them.
The Indian regulator periodically promises to find a "workable mechanism," but there's still no real solution. Russia has been fed empty promises for five years now.
9/ "While endless approvals and negotiations drag on, the rupee continues to weaken against the dollar. Pending amounts are rapidly losing value, turning virtual profits into real losses.
10/ "The oil was shipped long ago, taxes on it have been paid, and the money earned is simply vanishing from the currency charts.
11/ "The situation looks particularly grim when viewed against the backdrop of initial expectations. The shift to settlements in national currencies was touted as a breakthrough in de-dollarization and a way to circumvent Western sanctions.
12/ "In practice, it turned out to be a trap: the resources were gone, but the money remained inaccessible. Exporters effectively gave India oil in exchange for worthless paper money that cannot be withdrawn or properly spent.
13/ "This case has served as a vivid lesson: changing the settlement currency without ensuring the free movement of capital turns trade into a form of hidden subsidisation of the buyer.
14/ "Russia not only lost revenue but also set a precedent where a partner can hold funds in their own currency for years while it depreciates, and the seller can do nothing about it.
15/ "Essentially, India, like Europe, froze Russian assets, only in this case, Russia prefers to remain silent and accept the Indian bullshit." /end
1/ Following political pressure, Wildberries' CEO Tatyana Kim – Russia's richest woman – says that the company will compensate its sellers for their losses despite a recent change of its terms and conditions that absolved it of liability. ⬇️
2/ Colossal quantities of goods – likely hundreds of millions of items – have been destroyed in Ukraine's recent drone strikes on several Wildberries warehouses. Forbes Russia estimates the total damage so far to be as much as 283–303 billion rubles ($3.60–3.86 billion).
3/ Some individual traders have sustained huge losses. One company alone, Russian clothing brand Finn Flare, says it has lost goods worth over 100 million rubles ($1.28 million) in the fire caused by the attack on the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal.
1/ The sight of more burning warehouses has prompted angry denunciations from Russian warbloggers of the "bureaucratic pimples" who are allegedly sabotaging air defences. Anti-drone mobile fire teams, in particular, are said to be in disarray. ⬇️
"Today, the enemy attacked the Wildberries warehouses again. Successfully—for the enemy, that is. It appears we’ve lost two major logistics terminals at once: in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk."
3/ "There are plenty of photos, but I won’t be posting them. Things are just as bad for the enemy: our side didn’t take it lying down and, judging by the information available, have wiped out two similarly large terminals in Odesa and Mykolaiv.
1/ Ukraine's increasingly devastating attacks on Wildberries warehouses in Russia are intended to dismantle Russia's e-commerce economy, disrupt logistics, and drive up prices even further, say Russian bloggers. They are calling for urgent action. ⬇️
2/ Roman Alekhin sees the writing on the wall for Wildberries:
"1. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already inflicted extreme damage and will most likely continue to do so.
3/ "2. The platform economy will not perish with the collapse of Wildberries. The platform economy is not about mega-warehouses, but about mega-management.
1/ As more Wildberries warehouses burn following Ukrainian drone attacks, here's a handy guide to the top 10 e-commerce warehouses in Russia – which should also help to serve as an indicator of where Ukrainian drones are likely to fly next.
2/ The Russian Telegram channel 'ZaTelekom' writes:
"The largest distribution and fulfillment centers of Russian companies (taking into account the queues introduced) form the following top ten (I marked with emoticons where already [attacked]):
3/ "1. 💥 Wildberries Koledino Distribution Centre (Podolsk, Moscow Region)
Area: ~250,000–280,000 sq. m.
1/ The 'SVOshnik' – a drunk, traumatised, violent veteran of the Ukraine war – has become a figure of fear in Russia. Russian journalist and activist Anastasia Kashevarova, who has fought for soldiers' rights, admits that some veterans are out of control. ⬇️
2/ Many participants in the Ukraine war have been discharged, usually through ill-health or in some lucky cases, having completed contracts. They have brought with them a wave of violence and crime, with even prostitutes avoiding them.
3/ A large part of the problem, as Kashevarova notes, is that participants in the 'Special Military Operation' (SVO) are often treated with deference by law enforcement agencies, leaving ordinary people vulnerable to their violent behaviour. She writes:
1/ Claims by a senior Russian military official that the Russian army's tactical medicine system is efficient and rapid are greeted with incredulity by Russian commentators. They point out that wounded soldiers are often not evacuated for days or weeks. ⬇️
2/ Deputy Minister of Defence Anna Tsivileva – a relative of Putin's who was controversially appointed a lieutenant general despite no previous military experience – has given an upbeat assessment of the performance of Russian tactical medicine.
3/ At a board meeting of the Russian MOD, Tsilvileva said that since December 2025, work has been undertaken as a high priority to improve the speed of evacuations and the quality of primary care on the front lines.