Wildberries Bans Smartphones at Warehouses After Drone Attacks

Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries has banned employees from bringing smartphones into its warehouse facilities after workers reportedly recorded Ukrainian drone attacks and air raid alerts, according to the Russian Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti.The outlet posted on Monday that Wildberries had sent employees a notice on July 31 warning that photographing or filming air raid alerts and drone activity at warehouse sites could endanger security by revealing the locations of Russian air defense (PVO) positions.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Photo and video recording during air raid alerts threatens security, may reveal the positions of air defense forces, violates Russian legislation, and may result in administrative or, in some cases, criminal liability,” the notice reportedly said.Only button phones allowedWildberries said it had recorded multiple cases of employees filming drones and other incidents at warehouse facilities with their smartphones.To “eliminate such risks,” the company said that beginning Monday, employees would only be allowed to bring button mobile phones without cameras into warehouses.According to the notice, the devices will allow workers to stay in contact with relatives while complying with the company’s new security requirements.The reported restrictions come after a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Wildberries logistics facilities. Last week, Ukrainian drones struck Wildberries warehouses in Russia’s Penza region and the republic of Udmurtia, causing fires and disrupting logistics operations. Other Topics of Interest Drone Falls Near ‘Putin’s Palace’ in Russia, Killing Four People Four people, including a child, were killed after a drone fell on a crowded beach near Gelendzhik, reportedly following an interception by a Russian mobile fire group. Kyiv has previously said it targeted the company because of its alleged role in supporting the Russian military and its partnership with state-controlled bank VTB.Ukrainian drones also struck a 178,600-square-meter (1,922,000-square-foot) Wildberries hub early on Sunday, continuing a sustained campaign that has destroyed approximately 38% of the Russian e-commerce giant’s major warehouse capacity over the past two weeks, causing significant financial losses and consumer price hikes.Wildberries management confirmed the attack on the warehouse, stating there were no casualties.Independent monitoring channels reported that the logistics center is located approximately 450 meters (1,476 feet) from a large installation displaying a Russian flag and the pro-war “Z” symbol.Systematic targeting of Russian logistics and refiningAs of July 31, at least 18 strikes have targeted the company’s supply chain infrastructure, damaging or destroying approximately 1 million square meters (10,763,000 square feet) of warehouse space – roughly 38% of its major logistics capacity.The systematic destruction of these hubs, which has caused estimated losses of up to $1.2 billion for the retailer, recently triggered a 10%-30% surge in consumer prices on the platform as the company canceled promotional discounts to absorb the financial impact.Ten of the company’s 26 largest warehouses have sustained damage, including facilities in the Moscow and St. Petersburg regions that were completely destroyed by fire.The Sunday strikes follow a massive wave of coordinated deep strikes on Saturday, which targeted three Bashneft refineries in Bashkortostan and multiple radar stations in the Krasnodar region.Concurrently, a naval drone operation in the Black Sea sank the Rosatom-affiliated FESCO container ship Yanina.President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the sinking of the sanctioned vessel, which had a capacity of over 100,000 tons, noting that the strikes targeted specific sites that support the Russian war effort. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.