The head of annexed Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, announced restrictions on mobile internet. In an interview with Sputnik in Crimea, he said the measure would remain in force “until the end of the special military operation” and described it as justified for security reasons. A similar regime had previously been introduced in Russia only in the Ulyanovsk region.
Many residents of the peninsula reacted critically. Some said they do not believe disabling mobile internet can stop drone attacks and pointed out that drones continue to reach Crimea regardless.
One resident said the shutdown could put civilians at risk because people may fail to learn about an attack in time and could end up under falling debris.
Users also complained about everyday consequences. They said operators continue charging full fees even when access to services is restricted, and no discounts are offered for unused data.
Valentina, a resident of Yalta interviewed by Novaya-Europe, called the move absurd and objected to the open-ended timeframe. Igor from Simferopol said he saw no point in it because other technologies are used to guide drones, while only a few services from a so-called whitelist, including VKontakte and the Max messenger, remain available during outages.
Aglaya, a pensioner from the Simferopol district who supports the war, also opposed the restrictions. She said her family is scattered across different countries and is losing its last regular way to keep in touch through WhatsApp and Telegram. Alexander, an entrepreneur from Kerch, took a neutral view but said he does not understand how urban shutdowns are supposed to affect drone flights if mobile internet continues to work outside the city.