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“No Whining”: Russian Official Tells Residents to Join War Amid Worsening Internet Crisis
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
As internet outages in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Krai stretch into a fourth day, a regional official has sparked backlash with a pointed response to complaints—suggesting that residents unhappy with the situation could be sent to fight in Ukraine.
This was reported by The Moscow Times on July 29, citing remarks made by Yekaterina Kuzminykh, head of the Regional Management Center (TsUR).
Yekaterina Kuzminykh made the comment in response to a post by Governor Mikhail Kotyukov regarding the ongoing shutdown. When a resident asked how people could continue working remotely if even wired internet connections go down, Kuzminykh replied: “There’s enough work for everyone on the ‘Special Military Operation .’”
A local source confirmed to Horizontal Russia that the comment came from Kuzminykh’s verified account The Moscow Times reported. She later doubled down by reposting a Telegram story from the governor’s channel and adding: “Let’s be grateful for the clear skies above us. And no whining.”
Internet access in the region has been severely disrupted since mid-last week. On the fourth day of outages, Governor Kotyukov claimed the shutdown was due to “enhanced security measures” and “preventive actions against network threats,” but offered no details about the nature of those threats or the expected duration of the blackout.
According to The Moscow Times, authorities across Russia have intensified internet restrictions in recent months, especially following a wave of Ukrainian drone strikes. Since May, mobile internet access has been deliberately throttled in dozens of regions, with officials citing national security concerns. In July alone, at least 77 regions experienced regular shutdowns—including remote areas like Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka. Disruptions have increasingly affected wired networks as well.
Earlier, it was reported that authorities in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region have introduced “temporary restrictions” on mobile internet access, citing unspecified national security concerns without providing further details.
