Russia Is Shutting Down Its Own Internet To Stop Ukrainian Drones

A man holds flowers standing in front of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in downtown Moscow on September 3, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)

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As Ukrainian drones strike deeper into Russia, targeting oil refineries, the Kremlin’s response has been to flip the switch, shutting down mobile networks across dozens of regions. Drone alerts are grounding flights, while internet shutdowns freeze payments and halt digital commerce. Shops revert to cash. The war is increasingly being felt at home.

Russian regional authorities are now racing to expand public Wi-Fi networks as mobile internet shutdowns become routine, publishing interactive maps of new access points across major cities. The Moscow Times reported that Russian officials said the networks are meant to “ensure citizen safety.” Still, the move highlights how deeply connectivity disruptions have seeped into daily life, forcing the government to offer workarounds for its own restrictions.

Jason Jay Smart, a security analyst, told me in an interview that “regional authorities now shut or throttle mobile data during raids across dozens of oblasts, producing rolling blackouts and higher latency as traffic is forced through fewer routes. June–July saw near-countrywide outages after Operation Spiderweb.”

Russian lawmakers have begun publicly defending the outages as a matter of national security. Vladimir Gutenev, head of the State Duma’s industry committee, told Life.ru that internet restrictions are a “necessary measure” during drone threats. “Don’t turn into a ‘hipster’ who lives only in central Moscow; life isn’t limited to comfort,” said Gutenev.

But some experts say Moscow’s blackout logic has as much to do with controlling information as with defending against drones. Heiner Philipp, an engineer with Technology United for Ukraine, told me in an interview, “When Russia shuts down the internet during drone alerts, it’s likely as much to stop citizens from live-streaming the attack as to prevent Ukrainian use of the network.” Indeed, the Kremlin faces a growing problem as social media fills with videos of Ukrainian strikes, while ordinary Russians inadvertently help Ukrainian intelligence confirm targets and assess damage.

Cutting The Cord

Since May, Russian authorities have imposed mass mobile data blackouts across dozens of regions, including Moscow, as long-range Ukrainian drones increasingly tap into Russia’s LTE networks for guidance and reconnaissance, according to Counteroffensive Pro, a Ukrainian defense technology outlet. The result is a measure that curtails Russia’s own connectivity, one that leaves millions of Russians cut off from basic services whenever the drones take off.

On Victory Day, May 9, Russia’s telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor, switched off mobile data in 40 regions, accounting for around 60% of the country. The move grounded delivery apps, taxi services, and digital banking in the capital. Deutsche Welle reported that Russia uses Deep Packet Inspection technology, known locally as “Technical Means of Countering Threats,” to shut down entire districts’ mobile networks with a single command.

The system lets authorities cut service to entire districts with a single command, bypassing telecom operators altogether. Internet security expert Mikhail Klimarev said these outages now happen “almost daily” and often affect regions far from any drone activity. The Kremlin’s response may slow drones, but it’s also throttling its own economy.

Bloomberg noted that there were a record 654 mobile data shutdowns across Russia in June, nearly ten times the number reported the previous month, according to Na Svyazi, a non-governmental organization that monitors internet restrictions.

Ukraine’s long-range kamikaze drones, including the Lyutyi, often rely on Russian cell towers to transmit telemetry and video back to operators hundreds of miles away. Olena Kryzhanivska, a defense analyst writing in Ukraine’s Arms Monitor newsletter, says the Lyutyi was developed to strike deep inside Russia when Kyiv could not use certain Western-supplied weapons; it is highly resistant to jamming and can vary its altitude in flight depending on terrain. By tapping local LTE signals, these drones can adjust altitude, dodge air defenses and steer toward high-value targets.

The Financial Times reported that mobile data outages in Russia surged past 2,000 in July and August, more than triple June’s level. In key industrial cities like Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir, weeks-long blackouts and GPS jamming have disrupted transport, cut car-sharing revenues and pushed more Russians to hoard cash. DW noted that businesses have lost revenue, travelers are unable to use electronic tickets, and residents revert to an offline routine reminiscent of the 1990s.

Smart added that repeated refinery hits have taken an estimated 17% to 40% of Russia’s refining capacity offline since August.

“When the internet goes dark, card payments and logistics stall,” Smart said. “Cash withdrawals spike, flights are grounded during alerts, and Belarus has had to surge gasoline exports to cover Russian shortfalls.”

The Kremlin’s growing war costs are compounding the strain. As the Moscow Times reported, Russia’s Finance Ministry plans to raise the national VAT rate from 20% to 22% next year to plug a ballooning budget deficit. The move is expected to drive consumer prices up and further squeeze household finances.

The FT noted that with Nokia and Ericsson gone, China’s Huawei is now the country’s last major telecom supplier, often through grey imports. Russia’s Internet Protection Society estimates that a single day of nationwide mobile internet shutdowns can cost the economy hundreds of millions of dollars, including $115 million in Moscow alone.

Life Offline

The disruption extends to the skies as well. The Moscow Times reported that mass drone attacks have repeatedly forced Russia to close its airspace, delaying or canceling thousands of flights and grounding major airports. In July alone, over 2,000 flights were delayed and 485 canceled, according to Rosaviatsia, as civilian air traffic became collateral damage in Russia’s drone war.

Across Russian cities, residents are now enduring daily internet outages every time drones are detected overhead. One local outlet, TV Gubernia RU, reported that mobile service was “virtually nonexistent” for two days straight during a June drone alert. GPS navigation, banking apps, taxis, and messaging platforms all stopped working.

One telecom operator even tried to calm angry customers with a nostalgia-laced gesture, offering a free bundle of 100 SMS messages as compensation. Texting, the outlet noted, is suddenly back in fashion, as Russians resort to old-school communication and even use SMS for money transfers. Lawyers told TV Gubernia that residents are unlikely to win compensation in court, since operators act under government orders during emergencies, because of a legal loophole.

While Russia scrambles to limit damage from its own blackouts, Ukraine’s challenge is how to keep its networks secure without cutting them off entirely.

Ukraine’s Network Problem

Unlike Russia, Ukraine doesn’t have total control over its telecommunications operators. There are no restrictions on mobile network usage during attacks. But Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov told the Ukrainian outlet Novyny Live that officials may temporarily limit 4G and 5G service in certain areas to stop Russian drones from using domestic networks to transmit video and coordinates, a defensive measure similar to Moscow’s blackout tactics.

“This isn’t a shutdown,” Hnatov explained. “It’s a temporary restriction on high-speed connections in specific zones so that drone modems can’t access Ukrainian networks.”

Lawmakers are exploring targeted data limits, stronger identification for anonymous SIM cards, and algorithms to block devices moving at high speeds across borders. It’s a technological game of whack-a-mole: blunt cuts may slow enemy drones, but they also risk disrupting civilian life. Both sides are discovering that the same digital lifelines they depend on are also vulnerable.

Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told me in an interview that the pattern of shutdowns shows how important the race for countermeasures has become. “From publicly available information, we know that Russia is throttling internet access in certain regions as well as limiting GPS access to counter the potential threat of Ukrainian drone strikes,” he said. “We also know that Russians have adapted to using Ukraine’s own internet to guide strike drones against Ukrainian targets. The reality is that it is unlikely that either country would be able to fully counter the adversary’s use of such civilian technology.”

Drone-SIM Arms Race

Both sides are exploiting each other’s mobile networks. In 2023, Ukrainian officials first found Russian-made Shahed and Lancet drones carrying Ukrainian SIM cards.

Roy Gardiner, an open-source weapons analyst, told me, “Russian drones such as the Shahed have also been equipped with LTE modems to connect to Ukrainian mobile networks. But they have been switching to mesh radio network communications with repeater drones stretching back to Russia, or possibly using covert ground stations in Ukraine.” Gardiner noted that this shift suggests Ukrainian mobile providers have found ways to block the exploitation of their networks.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ukrainian SIM cards have been found in drone wreckage, according to Serhii ‘Flash’ Bezkrestnov, an expert in electronic warfare, who noted in an online interview with the Times of Ukraine that they are used for video feeds, transmitting coordinates, and live control.

On Sept. 22, the Kyiv Post reported that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) arrested two residents from the Kyiv region, including a former law enforcement officer, accused of supplying Ukrainian SIM cards to Russia’s FSB for use in drones targeting Ukraine. The SBU said the cards were sent through EU intermediaries to drone factories in Tatarstan.

“Because of the great distances that Ukrainian strike drones typically fly, switching to radio mesh networks as the Russians have is not practical,” says Gardiner. “The rapid advances in autonomous drone flight and targeting may allow Ukraine to compensate for loss of access to Russian mobile networks.”

Counteroffensive Pro highlighted that Russia is now planning a nationwide system of remote data-kill switches using surveillance platforms, tools that allow the security services to block internet access in real time. The Ministry of Digital Development is also drafting rules to force satellite providers to install tracking equipment on every 5G base station by 2026.

Moscow is also moving to make its blackout regime permanent. According to Russian outlet Vedomosti, the Ministry of Digital Development plans to formalize a “cooling-off period” for foreign SIM cards, blocking mobile internet for up to five hours after they connect to Russian networks.

The rule is designed to thwart drones using foreign SIMs for targeting or telemetry. In parallel, Russia is testing a nationwide “whitelist” system that keeps essential services such as taxis, delivery apps, and ATMs online while shutting down everything else. Access to that whitelist will require passing a CAPTCHA test to prove a human, not a machine, is connecting, a step meant to confuse drones but likely to frustrate civilians instead, the outlet highlighted.

Belarus, Russia’s close ally, confirmed in October that Moscow has begun enforcing a 24-hour blackout for all foreign SIM cards entering its networks, a move explicitly designed to stop Ukrainian drones from connecting.

Ukraine’s Drones Adapt

For Ukrainian drone engineers, the blackout problem is forcing innovation. They are experimenting with multi-channel communication systems that can automatically switch between LTE, radio and satellite links if one signal is lost.

“Ukraine is increasingly relying less on Russian cellular networks. Many long-range systems now use direct-to-satellite links such as Starlink. To strike precisely, you don’t need much data, just one or two megabits per second,” said Philipp.

Fully autonomous drones are also in testing, though expensive and complex to produce. The Economist noted that Ukraine’s Lyutyi drone, with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, uses machine vision to navigate and strike targets deep inside Russia. Kryzhanivska highlighted that the drone’s inertial navigation enables autonomous flight, while satellite links let operators fine-tune its trajectory when not jammed by Russian electronic warfare.

For now, both sides are locked in a digital tug-of-war where drones rely on the very networks their opponents try to shut down. As Ukraine’s long-range drones strike deeper into Russia, the fallout is hitting the ordinary Russians the Kremlin has tried to shield from the war’s economic impact with grounded flights, dead networks, and a cash economy increasingly resembling the final days of the Soviet Union.