Over 1,400 shutdowns in a month: Russia sets new record for internet outages
Photo: Russia sets negative record for internet shutdowns (Getty Images)
In July 2025, Russia set a new negative record with 1,470 internet shutdowns in a single month, according to the press service of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SZR).
According to the report, the recorded outages have been unprecedented not only in scale but also in frequency. While earlier disruptions lasted for several hours or days and were mostly localized, internet access in some regions of Russia is now disappearing almost daily.
Shutdowns have been recorded in dozens of regions, including Lipetsk, Vladimir, Moscow, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk, and Tyumen regions.
In June 2025, communication disruptions affected 77 regions, 47 of which were completely cut off from the internet.
In July, the situation worsened, with massive outages reported in an additional 18 regions, including areas far from the combat zone such as Primorye, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka. Failures are also affecting wired internet services.
"Russians are forced to adapt to life without stable access to the network, which excludes the usual financial transactions, navigation and online services. Complaints to the authorities do not help – on the contrary, officials threaten to send complainants to the war against Ukraine," SZR noted.
The agency added that Russian security forces, in cooperation with internet providers, make decisions on restricting access based on assessments of the "operational situation," which are often not explained in detail. However, the true aim of these measures is to control information and restrict Russians’ access to sources deemed undesirable by the Kremlin.
Kremlin creates a new powerful tool to control Russian citizens
As previously reported, the Kremlin appointed the company VK as the developer of a national messenger app. This led to the creation of Max, an application that combines messaging, financial services, and access to government services.
According to analysts, the launch of Max gives the Kremlin tools for large-scale control over citizens’ online activity. The app does not use end-to-end encryption, making it vulnerable to surveillance.
Since 2022, Russia has also increased pressure on foreign digital platforms. Facebook, Instagram, and X have been blocked, while access to YouTube and TikTok has been restricted.
In July, authorities recorded a record 2,591 mobile internet shutdowns. The government claims this is related to protection against Ukrainian drones, but human rights activists see it as a form of censorship.
