Moscow’s routine for millions of residents and the day-to-day operations of businesses have been thrown off by recurring disruptions to cellphone internet in the capital, with foreign websites blocked on mobile phones in central areas, according to the Associated Press. The outages, which have swept through downtown areas after initial reports from the outskirts, have interrupted services that rely on mobile connectivity and have affected how people pay for goods and access local transport.
The disruptions have also changed how some residents communicate and manage their errands. During the outages, the AP reported that some Moscow residents turned to older, long-unused devices such as walkie talkies, pagers and media players as cellphone internet became intermittent.
Russian authorities have said the restrictions are part of security measures aimed at countering Ukrainian drone attacks. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters that the latest cellphone internet shutdown in Moscow was in “strict conformity with the law” and would last “as long as additional measures to ensure security of our citizens are necessary,” according to the AP. Asked why the shutdowns in Moscow were taking place now, Peskov said Ukraine has launched “increasingly sophisticated methods of attack,” and therefore “the more technologically advanced measures are needed to ensure public security,” the AP reported.
The AP said the outages are taking place amid broader efforts by Russian authorities to rein in internet access. After President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blocked major social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, according to the AP. The communications watchdog later announced restrictions on messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram, and the government has promoted a “national” messenger app called MAX, which critics have described as a surveillance tool.
During the Moscow disruptions, some “white list” sites and services designated as approved were available, but the AP reported that even government services, top banks and taxi apps stopped functioning during parts of the week-long period. Businesses with broadband access, and residents with broadband at home, were not affected, the AP said, highlighting that the interruptions were centered on mobile connectivity.
The AP reported that businesses that rely on mobile internet—such as cafes, restaurants and shops—suffered losses as customers were unable to pay for services. It said ATMs and parking meters that rely on cellphone internet stopped working, while taxi apps offered riders the option of calling by phone and paying in cash. At some points, the AP reported that cellphone coverage for making calls was also halted.
Kremlin-linked reporting on the impact of the disruptions has included officials describing gaps in mobile connectivity in political facilities near central Moscow. The AP said members of the Kremlin-controlled parliament reported earlier this week that mobile internet was almost entirely missing in the lower house building located a few hundred meters (yards) from Red Square.
Business estimates of the cost of the outages were cited by the AP as well. Kommersant, a business daily, published an estimate earlier in the week that Moscow businesses lost between 3 billion and 5 billion rubles—about $38 million to $63 million—in five days of shutdowns, with other estimates reported as significantly higher.