Ivan Boyko12:34, 29.07.26

4 min.154UNIAN

Russians no longer trust official messages from the authorities.

The attacks on Wildberries warehouses in the Moscow and Tambov regions became the most discussed topic among Russians last week, surpassing the topic of attacks on oil refining infrastructure in popularity.

In discussions on Telegram channels and social media, Russians are distrusting the Kremlin’s official statements and blaming the attacks on the Russian government and Vladimir Putin personally. At the same time, calls for Putin to strike “retaliatory blows” and “level Ukraine to the ground” are also gaining significant support.

This is stated in the weekly monitoring of Russian regional social networks, conducted by the public organization Join Ukraine. The study covers about 410 regional Telegram channels, as well as regional VKontakte communities in all eight federal districts of Russia, including the temporarily occupied Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, for the period from July 13 to 19.

So, according to the study, during the week Russians discussed the following the most:

• a massive attack by over 350 drones on Moscow and the Moscow region;
• strikes on Gazprom Neftokhim Salavat and Afipsky Refinery;
• an attack on two Wildberries logistics complexes in Elektrostal and Kotovsk, resulting in preliminary losses estimated at over 50 billion rubles, according to official data.

Analysts noted that in most open discussions, Russians did not understand the logic of the attacks on Wildberries, did not believe the official statistics of casualties, and placed responsibility for the situation on the Russian government, the war, and Putin personally.

 A separate topic was the compensation scandal surrounding Wildberries. Users actively discussed changing contracts with sellers shortly before the attacks, which effectively removed the marketplace from responsibility for damages from military operations. Some commentators openly suggested that the company was preparing for possible strikes in advance.

 The study also showed a rise in war fatigue. In various regions, comments calling for “this all to end” are gaining mass support. At the same time, calls to bomb Kyiv and destroy Ukrainians are also popular in many regions and are gaining significant support.

Analysts explain that such a contradictory picture is natural. After large-scale attacks that cause a strong public resonance, the overall activity of the audience in social networks increases sharply. At such moments, both the voices of those who are tired of the war and call for its end, and supporters of further escalation, who demand new strikes on Ukraine, simultaneously intensify. This indicates the polarization of Russian society and the emotional reaction to the events.

“The attacks on Wildberries have become a kind of test of trust. The reactions of Russians have shown that they no longer take official reports at their word. They question statistics, suspect conspiracies, look for culprits within the country, and increasingly do not accept the authorities’ explanations. For the Kremlin, this is no less dangerous a process than the attacks themselves, because the loss of trust undermines the state’s ability to control public sentiment,” explains Yulia Yelenich, an analyst for the Russian branch of the NGO Join Ukraine.

We remind you that today in Ryazan, drones hit the Wildberries logistics center , causing a huge fire, as a result of which the warehouse was almost destroyed.

(C)UNIAN 2026