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Kremlin Defends Multi-Day Mobile Internet Throttling in Moscow

A recent law empowers the FSB to compel connection cuts, shielding operators from outages.

Overview

  • Moscow has entered a sixth day of severe mobile internet disruptions, with throttling and selective shutdowns reported across multiple districts.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov called the measures lawful security steps tied to the war with Ukraine and gave no timeline for lifting them.
  • A February amendment approved by parliament grants the FSB authority to order throttling or full shutdowns and removes operators’ liability for outages.
  • The outages are crippling messengers, digital payments, identification and courier apps, with some Russian media reporting that emergency calls may fail in parts of the city.
  • Operators were reportedly told to test a government whitelist that keeps state‑approved services reachable as many Western platforms work only via VPN, while daily business losses are estimated in the tens of millions of euros.