Moscow will temporarily turn off mobile Internet and SMS on Victory Day, and services from the white list will also be limited. The authorities are taking unprecedented steps.
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media reported that mobile internet and SMS services will be temporarily turned off in Moscow on May 9. Referring to the Russian state media, the AP agency reported on this on Thursday, writes TASR.
- The Russian Ministry announced the shutdown of mobile Internet and SMS in Moscow on May 9.
- Government-approved whitelisted websites will also be affected by the temporary restrictions.
- Home fixed internet connection and wi-fi networks should remain functional.
Restrictions will also apply to websites on the so-called the Russian government’s whitelist, which is a group of state-sanctioned online services that are available even during Russia’s increasingly frequent internet outages.
Planned Internet restrictions
Fixed internet connection and wi-fi networks in homes should remain functional, according to the authorities.
Moscow residents first encountered widespread internet restrictions a year ago, ahead of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. At that time, mobile internet was practically unavailable in several districts of the capital for several days.
Outages in other regions
Independent news website Meduza, which operates abroad, reported this week that telecommunications operators and Sberbank bank have notified residents of more than 40 Russian regions – from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad – that their mobile internet services will be restricted due to Victory Day celebrations. Outages are expected from May 5 to 9. These outages will also affect the annexed Crimean peninsula and the partially Russian-occupied regions in the south and east of Ukraine: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporozhye regions.
Security measures in Moscow
On Victory Day – May 9 – there will be a traditional military parade on Red Square in Moscow, which will take place this year for the first time in almost two decades without the usual presentation of tanks, missiles and other military equipment.
The Russian authorities cited concerns about possible Ukrainian attacks as the reason, as the Ukrainian army has recently expanded its capabilities in the field of long-range drones and missiles. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of “terrorist activity” in this regard, which led to the curtailment of celebrations and the tightening of security measures in Moscow.
