Author: Nataliya Vasilyeva and Alina Lobzina
\ Published on: 28/07/2025 | 00:00:00

AI Summary:
\ Russia’s mobile internet networks now have frequent blackouts because of the war with Ukraine. Since last month, the authorities have shut those networks down every day for hours at a time. The goal is to try to thwart attacks by Ukrainian drones that analysts say have used mobile networks for navigation. Russia has a record of restricting online freedoms, including trying to block the country’s most popular messaging app and throttling YouTube. But the mobile internet shutdowns are the collateral damage of war, a response to Ukraine’s spectacular drone attacks on long-range bombers at Russian bases on June 1. The internet blackouts shut down the data network, but calls still go through. By late July, the cellular internet was down every day, for at least a few hours, according to a group of volunteers living abroad that monitors internet access in Russia. This year, the authorities switched off mobile internet in Moscow for days before the annual Victory Day parade in May. Russians first experienced such shutdowns in the early months of the war, but they were limited to the areas bordering Ukraine. Internet blackouts have hit e-commerce companies and consumers most directly, though the scale of the economic impact is unclear. They have also hampered businesses not usually associated with phone apps. In Izhevsk, a city known for weapons production about 800 miles from Ukraine, mobile internet has often been turned off since June 1. Shutdowns have reached the easternmost parts of Russia, which have not been hit by drones, prompting some to question the official rationale. A remote technology worker from Khabarovsk expressed concern that the blackouts could be a part of the Kremlin’s strategy to restrict information. Russian authorities are increasingly pursuing corruption cases against regional and military officials. Legal maneuverings are putting elite on guard and may be aimed at quelling public anger about battlefield failures. War Amputees on the Golf Course: The sport helps Ukrainian soldiers who have lost limbs in the war against Russia to heal and master their prosthetics, rehabilitation experts say.

Original: 1610 words
\ Summary: 339 words
\ Percent reduction: 78.94%

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