Russians in Crimea use internet shutdowns to tighten control over population

Ukraine's National Resistance Center has stated that the shutdowns or deliberate slowdowns of mobile internet by the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea "is not security but tighter control over the population".

Source: Ukraine's National Resistance Center (NRC)

Quote: "Under the guise of combating hostile propaganda, a regime is being formed in which access to communications becomes a variable that can be restricted at any moment – without clear timeframes, criteria, or public explanations.

This creates a state of constant uncertainty and demonstrates the authorities' readiness to unilaterally limit basic channels of communication."

Details: Insider reports from the NRC indicate that security forces in temporarily occupied Crimea are pushing to expand these shutdown practices during "inconvenient periods", such as attacks, high-profile incidents or rising social discontent.

According to insiders, mobile internet is considered a risk precisely because it allows the population to quickly self-organise, document abuses and spread unofficial information.

Quote: "In practical terms, such restrictions lead to the degradation of social and economic infrastructure: access to emergency services, healthcare, financial services, and independent news sources becomes more difficult. In the conditions of temporarily occupied territories, internet shutdowns are transformed from a technical measure into an instrument of repressive and preventive policy."

Background: Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed "head of Crimea", said that the internet in occupied Crimea has been restricted until the end of Russia's so-called "special military operation".

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