Yandex Market changed the terms of its agreement with sellers, exempting itself from liability for failing to fulfill obligations in the event of drone attacks and missile strikes. The new version of the contract 'on the placement of product offers' was published on July 20 and took effect the same day, Verstka reported.
The changes affected the section on force majeure circumstances. The new version of the offer states that the executor (Yandex Market) 'is released from liability for partial or complete failure to fulfill obligations' in the event of 'extraordinary events,' including drone strikes. The list of such events also includes 'any consequences of the use, impact, fall, launch or activation of weapons, military equipment, aircraft (including unmanned aerial vehicles), means of destruction, ammunition and their parts, as well as shelling and explosions and other means of destruction, the impact of explosive and noise waves.'
Other extraordinary circumstances mentioned in the document include terrorist attacks, military, combat, defensive actions, the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency, strikes, civil unrest, and 'prohibitive acts of state bodies, including bans on movement.'
The previous version of the offer from July 1 did not contain such a list of extraordinary circumstances, Verstka noted. In addition, the new version removed a clause requiring the party invoking force majeure to immediately inform the other party. Yandex Market is now not obliged to do so.
Earlier, marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon similarly changed their agreement terms. The decisions were made amid Ukrainian drone strikes on logistics centers. On July 18, Wildberries warehouses in the Moscow region and the Tambov region were attacked, and on July 22, in Krasnodar and the Stavropol region. According to sources, nine people were killed and 91 injured in these strikes.
A Wildberries warehouse in the Voronezh region reportedly suspended night operations from 0:00 to 6:00 'amid drone attacks on the marketplace's centers.' Employees were also allowed to bring transparent bags, house keys, and car keys into the warehouse.
Sellers who lost goods at Wildberries warehouses report losses in the millions of rubles. Lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov told 7x7 that 11 days before the attack, Wildberries changed its offer to include a clause exempting the marketplace from compensation in the event of drone strikes. He noted that 'the marketplace stores your goods as a professional custodian,' meaning it must prove that the loss occurred due to force majeure.
Representatives of the Telegram channel 'Wildberries. The Truth of Employees' told 7x7 that victims and families of the deceased 'are not yet thinking about any legal battles with the corporation.' The situation is complicated by the fact that Wildberries mainly hires people through civil law contracts, which do not provide workers with the guarantees stipulated by the Labor Code.
A retail industry analyst familiar with the marketplace's operations estimated Wildberries' direct losses at 150–200 billion rubles. According to him, the destruction of warehouses is a serious but 'still not critical' blow to the company. He noted that 'the next stage is seller panic': many are already trying to withdraw goods from surviving warehouses. If sellers leave the marketplace, 'that will be an even bigger blow to the company than the losses from the fire,' the expert added.