'Country is at war' - Muscovites say they'll put up with internet outages if it's for security

Record ID: 2366531

  • Title: 'Country is at war' - Muscovites say they'll put up with internet outages if it's for security
  • Date: 17th March 2026
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 17, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING TO CROSS ROAD, MAN USING MOBILE PHONE MAN SPEAKING ON MOBILE PHONE PEOPLE CROSSING ROAD SIGN READING: "NO DRONE ZONE" MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 16, 2026) (REUTERS) TAXIS DRIVING IN TRAFFIC MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 17, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TAXI DRIVER, ARTYOM, 28, NO LAST NAME GIVEN, SAYING: "(ASK
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Drone Internet Internet outage Moscow Russia
  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe
  • Reuters ID: LVA001477217032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Since early March, people living in Moscow have experienced frequent mobile internet outages. 
    Although such outages have become common across Russia during the war in Ukraine, Moscow has not previously experienced them on such a scale since the war started, with millions of people losing access to popular services such as maps or taxi hailing applications.
    Amid stepped-up Ukrainian drones attacks, Russia has slowed down or turned off mobile internet in Moscow and some other major cities as part of what the Kremlin described as security measures.
    Reuters spoke to a handful of Muscovites on Tuesday (March 17) to get their take on the mobile internet outages. While most admitted they had been affected by the patchy connectivity, they accepted the security argument for the outages.
    The periodic outage has started to impact some businesses and is causing disruption to daily life in what was once one of the most connected cities in the world.
    In recent weeks, the Kremlin has moved to block messenger apps Telegram and WhatsApp, promoting the state-backed service MAX, which critics say is not secure. 
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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