Mobile carriers warn St. Petersburg residents of internet ‘difficulties’ ahead of May 9 parade

Source: Meduza

MegaFon and Yota, two of Russia’s major mobile carriers, warned St. Petersburg residents they may experience “difficulties” with mobile internet service during preparations for and the holding of mass events.

Both carriers advised subscribers to use Wi-Fi instead. Screenshots of the notifications were published by Ksenia Sobchak on her Telegram channel Krovavaya Barynya (“Bloody Noblewoman”).

Sberbank also warned customers of possible internet and SMS restrictions from May 5 through May 9, the St. Petersburg-based news outlet Fontanka reported.

Moscow residents had already received similar warnings from their mobile carriers.

Russian media, citing sources, reported that Moscow faces broader restrictions ahead of the May 9 parade: on May 5, 7, and 9, authorities plan to cut off all mobile communications and SMS messaging.

Russian authorities routinely restrict mobile communications under the pretext of “ensuring security.” The country has also moved to block WhatsApp and Telegram, crack down on VPNs, and introduce whitelists of websites and services that remain accessible during mobile internet outages.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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Mobile carriers warn St. Petersburg residents of internet ‘difficulties’ ahead of May 9 parade

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Mobile carriers warn St. Petersburg residents of internet ‘difficulties’ ahead of May 9 parade

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