Moldavian restaurant in London targeted with bad reviews by people thinking they're Russian

Russian restaurants and other eateries mistaken for them are being targeted with fake one-star reviews after the invasion of Ukraine.

Eastern European food outlets – including Ukrainian restaurants – are being pummeled with malicious reviews after hacker collective Anonymous encouraged them to bombard Russian-owned businesses.

The mess is leaving beleaguered owners – many of whom have no Russian links – to fight to save their reputations amid the influx.

Birch & Bear is a Moldavian-owned business which serves a variety of Eastern European cuisine

Moldova borders Ukraine and has accepted refugees from the war-torn country after the Russian invasion

Anonymous tweeted: ‘Go to Google Maps. Go to Russia. Find a restaurant or business and write a review.’

‘When you write the review, explain what is happening in Ukraine.’

Their aim was to encourage Russians to defy leader Vladimir Putin but British businesses have been caught in the crossfire of bad reviews. 

One Moldavian family-owned restaurant begged people to stop hammering it with potentially disastrous reviews.

Birch and Bear in the Isle of Dogs, London, is owned by a Moldavian man serving Eastern European and Ukrainian food.

The Anonymous-organised review-bombing was intended to get Russians to speak out about Putin

The scared owner has chosen to remain anonymous, but Moldavian friend Nistor Busuioc said: ‘Please stop marking one star reviews. I’m Moldavian and the owner is also Moldavian.

‘Our country is currently hosting thousands of refugees and helping Ukrainians with everything possible.

‘We stand with Ukraine. Stop the war, stop Putin.’

Moldova is in a period of high alert after Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko indicated that after Ukraine has been invaded, Russia and Belarus could invade Moldova next.

The former Soviet state could become the next country to fall in Putin’s quest to reestablish Russian rule over former USSR territory after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

Britain’s oldest Russian restaurant Borshtch n Tears, in South Kensington, west London, racked up 12 damning reviews in two days.

Russian civilians have taken to the streets to protest the war in Ukraine – often at great personal costs – as cracks formed in Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine. 

Birch and Bear’s associate was forced to beg for the malicious hackers to stop the reviews

Hackers like Anonymous have reportedly also targeted government websites, state broadcasters and a rail network moving troops from Russia to Ukraine.

Anonymous has so far claimed responsibility for over 1,500 cyberattacks across the past few days.

It claims to have hacked TV stations in Russia with footage of the war and websites for the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Reported clips include a young father saying goodbye to his fleeing wife and daughter and reels of the damage caused by Russian bombs.