Putin orders PM and FSB security service to ensure key services during mobile Internet shutdowns
MOSCOW, June 1 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the prime minister and the “director of the Federal Security Service (FSB)” to ensure access to important medical, information and payment services during periods when mobile internet service is limited.
Russia has sometimes shut down mobile internet services and crashed foreign messenger apps this year; Millions of people have been forced to turn to VPNs as part of an attempt to strengthen internal control after four years of war, Putin’s opponents say.
In the list of orders published by the Kremlin on Sunday, Putin ordered the government and the FSB to “ensure the uninterrupted operation of the most important services” during periods of “limited Internet operation.”
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The order stated that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov will report on their progress by July 1.
Putin stated that the disruption of the internet and communication networks is a necessary, but sometimes necessary, security measure to prevent terrorists and Ukrainian drone attacks. But he said citizens should be allowed to access vital online services during such periods.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Andrew Osborn)
