![\"RUSSIA-LIFESTYLE\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760037430_824_960x0.jpg\")
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A man holds flowers standing in front of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in downtown Moscow on September 3, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV \/ AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
As Ukrainian drones strike deeper into Russia, targeting<\/a> oil refineries, the Kremlin\u2019s response has been to flip the switch, shutting down mobile networks across dozens of regions. Drone alerts are grounding flights, while internet shutdowns freeze payments and halt digital commerce. Shops revert to cash. The war is increasingly being felt at home.<\/p>\n Russian regional authorities are now racing to expand public Wi-Fi networks as mobile internet shutdowns become routine, publishing interactive maps of new access points across major cities. The Moscow Times reported<\/a> that Russian officials said the networks are meant to \u201censure citizen safety.\u201d Still, the move highlights how deeply connectivity disruptions have seeped into daily life, forcing the government to offer workarounds for its own restrictions.<\/p>\n Jason Jay Smart, a security analyst, told me in an interview that \u201cregional authorities now shut or throttle mobile data during raids across dozens of oblasts, producing rolling blackouts and higher latency as traffic is forced through fewer routes. June\u2013July saw near-countrywide outages after Operation Spiderweb.\u201d<\/p>\n Russian lawmakers have begun publicly defending the outages as a matter of national security. Vladimir Gutenev, head of the State Duma\u2019s industry committee, told<\/a> Life.ru that internet restrictions are a \u201cnecessary measure\u201d during drone threats. \u201cDon\u2019t turn into a \u2018hipster\u2019 who lives only in central Moscow; life isn\u2019t limited to comfort,\u201d said Gutenev.<\/p>\n But some experts say Moscow\u2019s blackout logic has as much to do with controlling information as with defending against drones. Heiner Philipp, an engineer with Technology United for Ukraine, told me in an interview, \u201cWhen Russia shuts down the internet during drone alerts, it\u2019s likely as much to stop citizens from live-streaming the attack as to prevent Ukrainian use of the network.\u201d Indeed, the Kremlin faces a growing problem as social media fills with videos of Ukrainian strikes, while ordinary Russians inadvertently help Ukrainian intelligence confirm targets and assess damage.<\/p>\n Cutting The Cord<\/p>\n Since May, Russian authorities have imposed mass mobile data blackouts across dozens of regions, including Moscow, as long-range Ukrainian drones increasingly tap into Russia\u2019s LTE networks for guidance and reconnaissance, according to Counteroffensive Pro<\/a>, a Ukrainian defense technology outlet. The result is a measure that curtails Russia\u2019s own connectivity, one that leaves millions of Russians cut off from basic services whenever the drones take off.<\/p>\n On Victory Day, May 9, Russia\u2019s telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor, switched off mobile data in 40 regions, accounting for around 60% of the country. The move grounded delivery apps, taxi services, and digital banking in the capital. Deutsche Welle reported<\/a> that Russia uses Deep Packet Inspection technology, known locally as \u201cTechnical Means of Countering Threats,\u201d to shut down entire districts\u2019 mobile networks with a single command. <\/p>\n The system lets authorities cut service to entire districts with a single command, bypassing telecom operators altogether. Internet security expert Mikhail Klimarev said these outages now happen \u201calmost daily\u201d and often affect regions far from any drone activity. The Kremlin\u2019s response may slow drones, but it\u2019s also throttling its own economy.<\/p>\n Bloomberg noted<\/a> that there were a record 654 mobile data shutdowns across Russia in June, nearly ten times the number reported the previous month, according to Na Svyazi, a non-governmental organization that monitors internet restrictions. <\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s long-range kamikaze drones, including the Lyutyi, often rely on Russian cell towers to transmit telemetry and video back to operators hundreds of miles away. Olena Kryzhanivska, a defense analyst writing in Ukraine\u2019s Arms Monitor newsletter, says the Lyutyi was developed to strike deep inside Russia when Kyiv could not use certain Western-supplied weapons; it is highly resistant to jamming and can vary its altitude in flight depending on terrain. By tapping local LTE signals, these drones can adjust altitude, dodge air defenses and steer toward high-value targets.<\/p>\n In Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 6, 2024, long-range Peklo (Hell) missile drones are displayed during the handover of the first batch to Defence Forces on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky conveys the first batch of advanced Peklo missile drones to the military. During the event, it is reported that there have already been five successful uses. The Peklo missile drone, which has a strike range of 700 km and a speed of 700 km per hour, is launched into serial production. NO USE RUSSIA. NO USE BELARUS. (Photo by Ukrinform\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n The Financial Times reported<\/a> that mobile data outages in Russia surged past 2,000 in July and August, more than triple June\u2019s level. In key industrial cities like Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir, weeks-long blackouts and GPS jamming have disrupted transport, cut car-sharing revenues and pushed more Russians to hoard cash. DW noted that businesses have lost revenue, travelers are unable to use electronic tickets, and residents revert to an offline routine reminiscent of the 1990s.<\/p>\n Smart added that repeated refinery hits have taken an estimated 17% to 40% of Russia\u2019s refining capacity offline since August.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the internet goes dark, card payments and logistics stall,\u201d Smart said. \u201cCash withdrawals spike, flights are grounded during alerts, and Belarus has had to surge gasoline exports to cover Russian shortfalls.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kremlin\u2019s growing war costs are compounding the strain. As the Moscow Times reported<\/a>, Russia\u2019s Finance Ministry plans to raise the national VAT rate from 20% to 22% next year to plug a ballooning budget deficit. The move is expected to drive consumer prices up and further squeeze household finances.<\/p>\n The FT noted that with Nokia and Ericsson gone, China\u2019s Huawei is now the country\u2019s last major telecom supplier, often through grey imports. Russia\u2019s Internet Protection Society estimates<\/a> that a single day of nationwide mobile internet shutdowns can cost the economy hundreds of millions of dollars, including $115 million in Moscow alone.<\/p>\n Life Offline<\/p>\n The disruption extends to the skies as well. The Moscow Times reported<\/a> that mass drone attacks have repeatedly forced Russia to close its airspace, delaying or canceling thousands of flights and grounding major airports. In July alone, over 2,000 flights were delayed and 485 canceled, according to Rosaviatsia, as civilian air traffic became collateral damage in Russia\u2019s drone war.<\/p>\n Across Russian cities, residents are now enduring daily internet outages every time drones are detected overhead. One local outlet, TV Gubernia RU, reported<\/a> that mobile service was \u201cvirtually nonexistent\u201d for two days straight during a June drone alert. GPS navigation, banking apps, taxis, and messaging platforms all stopped working.<\/p>\n One telecom operator even tried to calm angry customers with a nostalgia-laced gesture, offering a free bundle of 100 SMS messages as compensation. Texting, the outlet noted, is suddenly back in fashion, as Russians resort to old-school communication and even use SMS for money transfers. Lawyers told TV Gubernia that residents are unlikely to win compensation in court, since operators act under government orders during emergencies, because of a legal loophole. <\/p>\n While Russia scrambles to limit damage from its own blackouts, Ukraine\u2019s challenge is how to keep its networks secure without cutting them off entirely.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s Network Problem<\/p>\n Unlike Russia, Ukraine doesn\u2019t have total control over its telecommunications operators. There are no restrictions on mobile network usage during attacks. But Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov told<\/a> the Ukrainian outlet Novyny Live that officials may temporarily limit 4G and 5G service in certain areas to stop Russian drones from using domestic networks to transmit video and coordinates, a defensive measure similar to Moscow\u2019s blackout tactics. <\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t a shutdown,\u201d Hnatov explained. \u201cIt\u2019s a temporary restriction on high-speed connections in specific zones so that drone modems can\u2019t access Ukrainian networks.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers are exploring targeted data limits, stronger identification for anonymous SIM cards, and algorithms to block devices moving at high speeds across borders. It\u2019s a technological game of whack-a-mole: blunt cuts may slow enemy drones, but they also risk disrupting civilian life. Both sides are discovering that the same digital lifelines they depend on are also vulnerable.<\/p>\n Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told me in an interview that the pattern of shutdowns shows how important the race for countermeasures has become. \u201cFrom publicly available information, we know that Russia is throttling internet access in certain regions as well as limiting GPS access to counter the potential threat of Ukrainian drone strikes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also know that Russians have adapted to using Ukraine\u2019s own internet to guide strike drones against Ukrainian targets. The reality is that it is unlikely that either country would be able to fully counter the adversary\u2019s use of such civilian technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Drone-SIM Arms Race<\/p>\n Both sides are exploiting each other\u2019s mobile networks. In 2023, Ukrainian officials first found<\/a> Russian-made Shahed and Lancet drones carrying Ukrainian SIM cards.<\/p>\n Roy Gardiner, an open-source weapons analyst, told me, \u201cRussian drones such as the Shahed have also been equipped with LTE modems to connect to Ukrainian mobile networks. But they have been switching to mesh radio network communications with repeater drones stretching back to Russia, or possibly using covert ground stations in Ukraine.\u201d Gardiner noted that this shift suggests Ukrainian mobile providers have found ways to block the exploitation of their networks.<\/p>\n People walk past a store of Kyivstar, a Ukrainian telecommunications company, in Kyiv on December 12, 2023. Ukraine’s main phone operator denounced an act of “war” on December 12, 2023 after the hacker attack that led to large-scale failures in its services. (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV \/ AFP) (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ukrainian SIM cards have been found in drone wreckage, according to Serhii \u2018Flash\u2019 Bezkrestnov, an expert in electronic warfare, who noted<\/a> in an online interview with the Times of Ukraine that they are used for video feeds, transmitting coordinates, and live control.<\/p>\n On Sept. 22, the Kyiv Post reported<\/a> that Ukraine\u2019s Security Service (SBU) arrested two residents from the Kyiv region, including a former law enforcement officer, accused of supplying Ukrainian SIM cards to Russia\u2019s FSB for use in drones targeting Ukraine. The SBU said the cards were sent through EU intermediaries to drone factories in Tatarstan.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the great distances that Ukrainian strike drones typically fly, switching to radio mesh networks as the Russians have is not practical,\u201d says Gardiner. \u201cThe rapid advances in autonomous drone flight and targeting may allow Ukraine to compensate for loss of access to Russian mobile networks.\u201d<\/p>\n Counteroffensive Pro highlighted that Russia is now planning a nationwide system of remote data-kill switches using surveillance platforms, tools that allow the security services to block internet access in real time. The Ministry of Digital Development is also drafting rules to force satellite providers to install tracking equipment on every 5G base station by 2026.<\/p>\n Moscow is also moving to make its blackout regime permanent. According to Russian outlet Vedomosti<\/a>, the Ministry of Digital Development plans to formalize a \u201ccooling-off period\u201d for foreign SIM cards, blocking mobile internet for up to five hours after they connect to Russian networks. <\/p>\n The rule is designed to thwart drones using foreign SIMs for targeting or telemetry. In parallel, Russia is testing a nationwide \u201cwhitelist\u201d system that keeps essential services such as taxis, delivery apps, and ATMs online while shutting down everything else. Access to that whitelist will require passing a CAPTCHA test to prove a human, not a machine, is connecting, a step meant to confuse drones but likely to frustrate civilians instead, the outlet highlighted.<\/p>\n