Russian occupiers cut off mobile internet in Luhansk region

February 3 – Russian occupation authorities blocked access to mobile internet in the occupied Luhansk region, according to a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The report reads: “On February 2, the only mobile service provider in Russian-occupied Luhansk oblast reported that it was suspending mobile internet coverage starting on February 11 on orders from the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media.” The Ukrainian National Resistance Center said that the region’s mobile internet had been cut off on February 2.

ISW experts said that the occupiers are increasing operational security to hide the new deployment of their troops in the region. Residents in the occupied territories had used mobile phones to collect information about Russian troops and send it to the Ukrainian military. “It is possible that Russian forces may be learning from their previous security missteps,” wrote ISW experts.