Russia on Tuesday cut mobile internet connection in the capital ahead of World War II victory commemorations, set to be staged under fear of a retaliatory Ukrainian drone attack.
AFP journalists reported no mobile internet in the centre of the Russian capital on Tuesday morning, as network providers warned disruptions were set to last until May 9, when Russia stages a grand military parade on Red Square.
A few hours later, Russia’s digital ministry said that access to mobile internet in Moscow had been restored, adding that the “targeted” outages helped “to reduce the accuracy of drones and to counterattack.”
Internet blackouts have become a frequent part of life in border regions in recent months.
Russia says the intermittent shutdowns are necessary to thwart Ukrainian drones, which connect via local networks.
In Moscow on Tuesday, some shops were unable to process credit card payments amid the outages, an AFP reporter said.
Automatic cash machines, taxi services and online maps were also affected by the outages.
Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory long-range drone strikes in recent weeks, hitting Russian oil facilities and a luxury high-rise building in Moscow.
Ukraine calls them a fair response to the nightly barrages of hundreds of drones that Russia fires on its cities.
The Kremlin has said it will scale down its grand parade marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, excluding cadets and military hardware from the annual show of force on May 9.
Source: Insider Paper
