The Kremlin said Tuesday that ongoing disruptions to mobile internet services in Moscow and other regions are necessary for ensuring security and are being carried out in accordance with the law.
Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg have reported significant mobile internet outages in recent days, though disruptions to internet access have become a common occurrence throughout the country in recent years as the military jams signals in an effort to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks.
“All shutdowns and restrictions on communications are carried out in strict accordance with current legislation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, saying the outages were being introduced to “ensure security.”
“Concerning the problems these measures create for businesses: that is, of course, a subject for additional analysis,” Peskov said.
“Different solutions will, of course, be proposed to address the problems that unfortunately accompany these restrictions,” the spokesman added without providing further information.
Telecom operators Beeline, MegaFon and T2 said the mobile internet disruptions in Moscow last week were caused by “external restrictions” beyond their control.
Sources in the telecoms industry told the newspaper Kommersant that operators had received instructions from the authorities to limit mobile internet in parts of the Russian capital.
Internet shutdowns have become increasingly common in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In 2025, Russia ranked first globally for the number of internet disruptions, according to estimates by Top10VPN, a research and analytics group. The outages totaled 37,166 hours and are estimated to have cost $11.9 billion.
The internet monitoring group Na Svyazi says restrictions are now introduced daily in an average of 63 regions.
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