Authorities in Crimea will keep mobile internet restrictions in place until the war in Ukraine ends due to security concerns, Sergei Aksyonov, the head of annexed Crimea, said, adding that “there was no other way.”
“Until the end of the special military operation, these restrictions will remain in effect. People will just have to accept it and switch to a different mode of work... I consider these measures sufficient to ensure Crimea’s security,” Aksyonov said.
In late October, the Crimean mobile operator Volna announced restrictions on the messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp by order of Roskomnadzor.
In November, authorities in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region announced mobile internet limits “until the end of the special military operation.” Media reports said that in affected areas only “whitelisted” sites would be accessible — for example, Gosuslugi, Yandex services, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, online marketplaces, and the Mir payment system.
