MOSCOW, June 1 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the prime minister and the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to ensure access to key medical, information and payment services during periods when mobile internet service is limited.
Russia has this year sometimes shut down mobile internet services and cracked down on foreign messenger apps, forcing millions to turn to VPNs as part of what Putin’s opponents say is an attempt to shore up domestic control after four years of war.
In a list of orders published on Sunday by the Kremlin, Putin ordered the government and the FSB to “ensure the uninterrupted operation of the most important services” during periods of “limited operation of the Internet”.
The order said that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov were to report back by July 1 on their progress.
Putin has cast disruption to Internet and communications networks as a painful, but sometimes essential security measure needed to to prevent terrorist and Ukrainian drone attacks. But he has said that citizens should be allowed access to vital online services during such periods.
(Reporting by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Andrew Osborn)
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