Russia will defend its national interests in the Arctic, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a government meeting, quoted by Reuters and TASS, BTA reports.
Putin also pointed out that the importance of the Northern Sea Route, passing through the Arctic, is growing increasingly in the context of supply disruptions, as well as against the backdrop of the unstable situation in the Middle East, as its role "as the safest, most reliable and effective route is becoming increasingly obvious".
The Russian president emphasized that the restriction of internet services in Russia is necessary for security reasons, Reuters points out.
The internet outages in major cities of Russia are related to the prevention terrorist threats. Ensuring the security of the country's citizens is always a priority, the president stressed.
Last month, authorities cut off mobile Internet in Moscow for almost three weeks and regularly block it in other places, citing the risk of Ukrainian drones using it to launch attacks, Reuters recalls.
At the government meeting, Putin also emphasized that government service portals, payment systems, booking medical appointments and other important services should be able to operate continuously even with restrictions on Internet access, and ordered to study the possibilities for this.
"We need to study the mechanism for uninterrupted operation of vital services. Nowadays, as we know, emergency calls are available even if there are no funds in the user's account. The operation of mobile Internet should be organized in a similar way," Putin noted.