In Crimea Announced A Complete Shutdown Of Mobile Internet
- 12.08.2025, 22:54
For the long term.
The authorities of the annexed Crimea have announced a complete shutdown of mobile Internet "for a long period of time". The measures are necessary to "counter enemy attacks and ensure the safety of citizens," the peninsula's "ministry" of domestic policy, information and communications said, The Moscow Times reports.
"To ensure that the long-term absence of Internet on your device does not take you by surprise, we recommend preparing for it in advance," including withdrawing cash and downloading offline cards, it added. Cellular communication and wired Internet will not be affected by the restrictions.
Local operator "Volna" has already warned subscribers of the forthcoming shutdown of mobile access to the network "to fulfill security requirements". For the period of restrictions, the operator promised to provide subscribers with free SMS messages, as well as packages of additional minutes for calls to numbers in Crimea, Sevastopol and Krasnodar Krai.
The periods of disconnection of mobile Internet in Crimea may last for several days, reported the "government" of the republic. Residents and visitors to the peninsula were advised to use city, office and home lines, as well as Wi-Fi. "Restrictions are necessary to exclude the possibility of attack" by Ukrainian drones, the authorities added.
The shutdown of mobile internet in Crimea began in December 2024, but so far these measures have been short-lived. Since late spring, similar restrictions have been introduced in Russian regions. At first, the number of Internet shutdowns was counted in dozens (69 in May), then grew to hundreds (662 in June) and in July reached 2,099, the project "On Communications" calculated. As a result, Russia lost almost 26 billion rubles in the past month alone, according to estimates by the Society for Internet Protection.
The authorities recommend stocking up on cash and preparing for long-term problems with communications, as well as taking the outages as a digital "detox." Mobile internet is now disappearing in Russia on a regular basis. For example, on August 11, shutdowns were recorded in 72 regions of the country.