Authorities in St. Petersburg warned on Tuesday that mobile internet in the city of 5.6 million could be shut off for “security reasons” as some residents reported outages earlier in the day.
The local government’s communications office said people can connect to “SPB_FREE” public Wi-Fi hotspots scattered throughout the city. Connecting to the network requires authorization via phone number.
Complaints about mobile internet disruptions in St. Petersburg began around 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Media reported that some people were unable to access platforms on the government’s so-called “white list,” which includes Yandex, the social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, as well as the Gosuslugi public services portal.
Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said early Tuesday morning that mobile internet access could be disrupted as he issued a drone attack alert.
Russian air defense systems repelled 15 drones over the Leningrad region, Drozdenko said later in the day, adding that the attacks did not cause any serious damage.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov has not commented on either the drone attacks or the internet outages.
Internet disruptions have been common in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as air defense systems jam signals used by Ukrainian drones. Monitoring groups say most regions throughout the country now face daily restrictions.
The Kremlin last week defended the disruptions as legal and necessary for ensuring security.
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