Russia Restricts Access to Google News Following Wagner Group’s Military Threats

Access to Google News has been blocked by Russian internet service providers following accusations by President Vladamir Putin against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, of organizing an armed rebellion. At least five Russian telecoms, including Rostelecom, U-LAN, and Telplusl, are preventing web users within the country from accessing the news aggregator, according to internet monitor NetBlocks (via The New York Times). ReturnByte’s request for comment from Google has not yet been answered.

Late on Friday, Wagner Group mercenaries crossed the border from Ukraine into Rostov-on-Don, 20 miles from the Sea of Azov, and appeared to capture the city, home to Russia’s southern military headquarters, without resistance from regular soldiers. army. BBC News reported Saturday that Wagner’s forces are moving north toward Moscow. Prigozhin has vowed to bring down Russia’s defense ministry in response to a missile attack he claims was carried out by the regular army against Wagner personnel stationed in Ukraine. In addition to being the founder of the Wagner Group, Prigozhin funded and created the Internet Research Agency, the troll farm behind Russia’s campaign to disrupt the 2016 US election.

Putin, who describes Prigozhin’s rebellion as a “lethal threat” to Russian statehood, has promised severe consequences for anyone associated with the paramilitary group. “Anyone who knowingly embarked on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, who chose the path of extortion and terrorist methods – they will suffer the inevitable punishment,” he said on Saturday, according to The Washington Post.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, many Western tech companies either pulled out of the country or had their services blocked by telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor. Facebook and Twitter are the platforms that have been either partially or completely blocked in the country since March last year.