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Russia Plans Full Internet Shutdown in Occupied Zaporizhzhia Region
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Russian occupation authorities are planning a full shutdown of internet access in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, activists from the resistance movement Otpor reported on March 17.
The group reported that Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-installed head of the occupied part of the region, appealed to Russian authorities for permission to impose a complete shutdown of internet services.
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Activists said the restrictions had initially been scheduled to take effect before March 16, but occupation administrations failed to carry out the plan within the expected timeframe.
The potential shutdown is reportedly being considered as a temporary measure connected to special operations by Russia’s Federal Security Service.
“Why the blockade has not been fully implemented at this time is unknown. It is likely that the occupation authorities encountered technical difficulties. Sources also note that attempts to disconnect the internet may be repeated in the near future,” the movement added.
Otpor said the decision appears to stem from distrust by the Russian-installed authorities toward local residents. According to the activists, Russian security agencies consider the population in the region potentially pro-Ukrainian and are trying to limit communication and the transfer of information as much as possible.
“In effect, this amounts to an attempt to impose information isolation on the temporarily occupied territory and to tighten control over the population,” the group concluded.
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Similar restrictions on communication are also being reported inside Russia, as Internet providers in several Russian cities have started throttling wired internet speeds amid continuing problems with mobile network connectivity, as reported by The Moscow Times.
The limits were introduced in Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Samara. In these cities, the provider Dom.ru reduced connection speeds to 50 Mbps for customers whose monthly data usage exceeds 3 terabytes.
According to the company, subscribers can maintain their current speed by paying an additional fee or wait until the next billing cycle, when normal speeds will be restored automatically.
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Dom.ru said the restrictions are expected to affect fewer than 1% of users, noting that most customers consume no more than 500 gigabytes per month. The company advised subscribers to track their data usage through their personal accounts.
State-owned telecom operator Rostelecom also addressed the issue, saying it shares concerns about unusually high traffic volumes and warning that excessive consumption could threaten the stability of the network.
Restrictions on communication are also being tightened in other occupied territories, including Crimea, where authorities have imposed long-term limits on mobile internet access that will remain in force until the end of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
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-e0260830c729b7c5d2607ba75ef39637.png "Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin in the Baltic Sea in 2023. (Source: MarineTraffic)")