Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov to ensure citizens' access to key medical, information and payment services during periods when mobile internet is restricted, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
In a list of orders published by the Kremlin yesterday, Putin ordered the government and the FSB to “ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the most important services“ during periods of “limited internet operation“.
The order states that the prime minister and the director of the FSB must report on progress made by July 1.
This year, Russia has repeatedly cut off mobile internet services and taken repressive measures against foreign messaging apps, forcing millions of people to turn to VPN services. Critics of the Russian president have described this as part of his attempt to tighten control over the country after four years of war, the agency notes.
Putin presents such interruptions of the internet and communication networks as a painful but sometimes necessary security measure aimed at preventing terrorist attacks and strikes by Ukrainian drones.