Russia unleashes the next step in crackdown on Ukraine

The Russian authorities aim to tighten their grip on The area it controls in Ukraine It now appears to be directing internet access there through their digital infrastructure, where it will likely be “monitored and censored” by Moscow, says one global internet watchdog.

The reported activity in the Kherson region comes days after it was reported that Russian forces had used tear gas and stun grenades to quell a pro-Ukrainian protest in the streets of its administrative center.

netblocksOn Saturday, the London-based Internet Monitor said it had “tracked a near-total internet blackout across the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine, affecting several Ukrainian service providers including Ukrtelecom, Kyivstar and Volia.”

People are seen fleeing after tear gas was fired on Wednesday (April 27th) during a pro-Ukrainian rally in Kherson.
(Reuters)

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The next day, regional provider Khersontelecom partially restored access, “However, the connection on the network was routed via the Russian Internet instead of to the Ukrainian communications infrastructure, and is now likely to be subject to Russian Internet regulations, surveillance, and censorship,” NetBlocks said.

“Metrics show that Kherson Telecom’s traffic has been redirected to pass through the Miranda provider, which serves Russia-occupied Crimea, which in turn is provided by the upstream provider Rostelecom in Russia,” it added.

People are seen fleeing the rally in Kherson on Wednesday, April 27.
(Reuters)

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Ukraine admitted losing control of most of the Kherson region, according to Reuters.

The news agency added that officials appointed by Russia there also claim that parts of the region will start using the Russian ruble as currency this week.