E-com Brief

Day at a glance

  • Wildberries' Kotovsk logistics centre in Tambov region was completely destroyed by drones — the facility's second strike.
  • Federal Law 289-FZ on the platform economy takes effect Oct 1; the Eurasian Economic Commission opened an anti-dumping probe into Chinese citric acid, with duties of up to 58.8% possible.
  • The EAEU €200 duty-free threshold for cross-border trade has been postponed, with no new effective date announced.
  • CBR official rates (set Aug 26, effective Aug 27): USD 84.2820, EUR 98.2897, CNY 12.5294.

Logistics & Tariffs

[Update] Wildberries logistics center in Kotovsk (Tambov region) completely destroyed by drone strike

Overnight on Aug 26, the Wildberries logistics center in Kotovsk (Tambov region) was hit by a drone and caught fire; open flames were extinguished at 16:50 MSK but the warehouse is completely destroyed, with ~100,000 sq m burned (≈14 football pitches); 2 injured (19-yo male concussion, 49-yo female finger fracture). The hub is a key central-Russia node, launched 2025, capacity up to 54 million items at full load; it has stopped accepting new deliveries and its stock was pulled from sale. Governor Pervyshov said 16 drones were downed overnight, 3 reached the building. This is the latest major development in the warehouse-strike campaign ongoing since mid-July; free storage capacity in central Russia tightens further.

Official source 📰 Интерфакс 🕒 MSK 18:44

Policy / Compliance

289-FZ 'Platform Economy Law' effective Oct 1 (35 days)

Mandatory seller ID (ESIA) + tax data sharing + consent for discounts + 45-day contract-change notice, affecting 100k+ Chinese sellers. Complete enrollment before September.

Official source 📰 Коммерсантъ / 官方法案 🕒 2026-08-01
EAEU €200 duty-free threshold delayed, new date TBD

EAEU €200 duty-free cross-border threshold (originally Jul 1) delayed; new date unannounced, customs practice unclear.

EAEU launches anti-dumping probe on Chinese citric acid (duty up to 58.8%)

The EEC opened an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese citric acid on Aug 25 at the request of the sole EAEU producer; the duty could reach 58.8%. Russia relies almost entirely on Chinese supply. For cross-border sellers of food additives and cleaning/industrial chemicals to Russia, this signals rising input costs and compliance risk; consider evaluating alternative sourcing and pricing headroom.

Official source 📰 Коммерсантъ 🕒 MSK 21:39

Local-Currency Settlement & Payments

China-Russia local-currency settlement rate near 99%

The share of local-currency settlement in Russia–China trade is close to 99%. (Official source: General Administration of Customs of China; original date Aug 10, 2026 is outside this coverage window — retained as background.)

Single source 📰 中华人民共和国海关总署 🕒 2026-08-10

Market Data

CBR official rates (set Aug 26, effective Aug 27): USD 84.2820, EUR 98.2897, CNY 12.5294

USD 84.2820 / EUR 98.2897 / CNY 12.5294. CNY slightly below Aug 26 (12.5659, -0.29%) but still ~12.5; margins pressured.

Official source 📰 Банк России (ЦБ РФ) 🕒 2026-08-26(公布)/2026-08-27(生效)