Wildberries hides military goods in search results after Ukrainian strikes hammer warehouses
on Google
Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, has stopped displaying military-related goods in response to searches that refer directly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to reports published on July 26.
The development comes after seven of the company's warehouses were hit in a series of Ukrainian strikes beginning July 18. Kyiv has said that the facilities were targeted in order to disrupt Russian army logistics.
Wildberries offers a number of dual-use items that can be used on the battlefield against Ukraine on its platform, including bulletproof vests and fiber-optic cable for drones.
Following the July attacks, the company has now reportedly hidden such goods from the results of search terms such as "everything for the SVO" and "SVO" — the Russian acronym for "special military operation," the Kremlin's official euphemism for the all-out war in Ukraine.
When users enter the search query "everything for the SVO" on the marketplace's website or app, the platform now returns the message "No suitable products found."
The Moscow Times reported that the same search previously returned more than 200,000 products. A screenshot shared by the Myrotvorets project — on online watchdog tracking anti-Ukrainian aggression — shows that the search previously returned military helmets among the results.
At the same time, military-related goods remain available on the marketplace. Bulletproof vests and protective helmets can still be found in the "Sport" category.
According to Vot Tak, searches such as "goods for SVO" and "SVO accessories" still return military first-aid kits, backpacks, radios, chevrons, and various flags. The marketplace also lists FPV drones and their components.
As Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure continue to intensify, Wildberries, frequently compared to e-commerce giant Amazon, has been severely impacted by drone strikes on several warehouses belonging to the company.
Some of its most important logistics centers have come under attack over the past week, including hubs in St. Petersburg, Tver, Moscow Oblast, and Voronezh, as well as in Russian-occupied Crimea. The strikes may have cost the company billions in damage.
The company's banking arm was sanctioned by the EU in July over its financial contribution to the Russian budget. Wildberries also plays a significant role in Russia's consumer economy, accounting for almost 50% of Russia’s online retail market.
