Wildberries bans smartphones at warehouses after Ukraine drone strikes

Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, has banned employees from bringing smartphones into its warehouse facilities starting Monday, August 3, after workers repeatedly filmed Ukrainian drone strikes and air raid alerts at company sites.

The ban, first reported by the Russian Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti based on an internal company notice, requires workers to carry only basic button phones without cameras. The notice warned that photographing or filming during air raid alerts "threatens security, could reveal the positions of air defense forces, violates the requirements of Russian law, and could result in administrative liability or, in some cases, criminal liability".kyivpost+2

A Campaign Against Russian Logistics

The smartphone restriction follows a sustained Ukrainian drone campaign against Wildberries infrastructure that began on July 18. According to Reuters, Ukrainian forces have attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since then in an effort to disrupt a company described as a linchpin of Russia's consumer economy. On August 2, drones struck a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, roughly 800 kilometers from Ukraine's most advanced positions, Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed.themoscowtimes+1

Ukrainian officials have said the strikes target the company because of its alleged role in supporting the Russian military. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated the warehouses were used to distribute navigation systems and components for drone production. Yurii Fedorenko, commander of Ukraine's 429th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade, said on August 1 that the attacks destroyed large stockpiles of components used for Russian drone operations, forcing military units to ration equipment.united24media+1

Mounting Losses

As of August 2, Ukrainian strikes have rendered 16 of Wildberries' largest logistics hubs inoperable over two weeks, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the company's biggest warehouse complexes, according to United24 Media. Russian Forbes estimated the disruptions have caused approximately $3.5 billion in losses for sellers using the platform.united24media

Dozens of Russian regions, including Moscow, already ban filming the aftermath of Ukrainian attacks, and publishing such content has led to detentions, according to Meduza. The Wildberries ban extends this logic to a private employer, reflecting the scale of disruption the drone campaign has inflicted on Russian commercial infrastructure.meduza