Bogdan Frolov12:37, 01.02.26

Russians have become accustomed to drone attacks, rising prices, and repression, but now they are forced to come to terms with a new reality – life without mobile internet.

Having unleashed a full-scale war against Ukraine, instead of the promised victories, the Russians received drone strikes on their own cities, soaring prices, and total censorship . Now, in the fourth year of the war, their reality has been supplemented by a new challenge: people are increasingly being forced to live without mobile internet. The “digital blockade” not only frays nerves but also makes many feel completely cut off from the civilized world.

Mobile internet shutdowns have become the norm across the country. Authorities claim this measure is necessary to prevent attacks by Ukrainian drones, some of which use this technology for navigation. However, Russians, experts, and even radical pro-war bloggers are questioning this justification, NBC News reports .

The fact is that Ukrainian drones continue to reach their targets deep within Russia, while users even in Kamchatka—approximately 7,000 km from the Ukrainian border—are told that the lack of service is due to “security concerns.” Due to the outages, ordinary Russians are often unable to use their phones on the go: making calls, ordering a taxi, or paying for groceries.

This has hit small businesses hard and forced some people to return to cash or stay home for reliable Wi-Fi. Parents of children with diabetes told Russian media that they are unable to use blood sugar monitoring apps during the blackouts.

It’s not just the communication outages that are causing concern

Russian authorities are increasingly implementing a so-called “white list”—a limited list of government-approved websites that people can access on their phones during shutdowns. This severely limits the information they receive.

This is happening against the backdrop of increased restrictions in the online sphere and a “wider crackdown on free speech”: bans on Instagram and Facebook, slowdowns on YouTube, restrictions on foreign messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, and a crackdown on VPN services. While the shutdowns didn’t spark widespread anger, some people still “attempted to protest” these measures.

Official explanations aside, Russians believe the Kremlin is using the shutdowns to prepare Russian society for a “North Korean” internet model – one that is heavily censored and restricted.

At the same time, some officials urged residents to view the outages as an opportunity for a “digital detox.” Oryol Oblast Governor Andrei Klychkov stated that these inconveniences are nothing compared to the “heroism” of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Fighting Ukrainian UAVs

Many Ukrainian drones have multiple navigation methods, such as GPS, to mitigate the impact of network outages. Blocking drones’ access to civilian cellular networks also requires the Russian government to shut down vast areas, said Bob Tollust, a land warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

He added that any attempt to stop a flying explosive device in this manner could lead to unforeseen consequences, such as sending it off course (towards civilian targets). One resident of the Chuvash Republic noted that he experiences mobile internet outages almost every day.

“This is happening because Ukrainian drones are reaching our territory, but blocking the internet doesn’t seem to be helping,” he emphasized.

Prominent Russian pro-war bloggers also express doubts. “There’s no evidence yet that shutting down the internet has any impact on the effectiveness of enemy drone strikes,” wrote one war correspondent, adding that the measure amounts to a “mockery” of ordinary Russians.

“The enemy immediately realized what countermeasures we would take. And they switched to satellites—they can’t be jammed,” wrote another military propagandist, blaming bureaucracy and the lack of technical expertise among Russia’s top military leadership for the outages.

Whitelist of websites

In September, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media published a “white list” of websites that would remain accessible during outages—primarily government services, the Yandex search engine, and Russian social media. In November, the list was expanded to include some state-owned media outlets, the Russian Post website, and taxi and weather services.

Some people complain that Telegram, which millions of Russians use daily to receive information (including drone alerts), is missing from the list, despite being created by Russian tech mogul Pavel Durov.

Though presented as a temporary measure, “whitelists” have become part of a larger-scale Russian censorship effort, according to Sarkis Darbinyan, cyber lawyer and founder of the digital rights organization Roskomsvoboda (RKS Global).

“At any moment, Russian officials could get the idea: why not use this as the default model for the entire country? There’s a great danger that in 2026, the authorities will adopt this model permanently,” he emphasizes.

The Russian State Duma is currently considering a bill that would allow the FSB to require telecom operators to disconnect communications services “to protect against emerging threats to the security of citizens and the state.” However, mobile internet shutdowns are causing “enormous discontent” among the Russian public, and the Kremlin cannot ignore this, the report states.

(C)UNIAN 2026