Russia’s cellular networks face mass shutdowns amid Ukraine’s drone strikes
October 25, 2025
In an effort to counter Ukraine’s deep drone strikes in Russia, cellular networks are becoming increasingly disrupted and jammed. At the same time, Russian critics argue the Kremlin is taking advantage of Ukraine’s drone strikes to comprehensively censor the internet. As Ukraine does not have full control over its telecommunications operators, there are not the same disruptions in Ukraine.
Russia’s disrupted cellular network amid Ukraine drone deep strikes
Across Russia, cellular networks are becoming increasingly blocked, with internet data no longer working for long periods. Ostensibly, this is an effort to counter Ukrainian drones that are now inflicting major damage on key Russian strategic assets.
One Russian expat recently returned to visit Russia and was taken aback by how much cellular data has deteriorated in Russia since his last time there. In an interview with AGN, he noted that the cell data network shutdowns didn’t happen much in Russia’s second city of St. Petersburg.
He added that in other regions of Russia, like Tatarstan and Udmurtia, mobile internet “nearly completely didn’t work.” This made it impossible to use normal online services like calling a taxi or using online maps without WiFi.
Russia is rushing to install WiFi hotspots around the country, but our source noted that many of these hotspots also depend on the cellular network. The internet is also generally slower, which felt “strange because the internet in Russia was one of the fastest.”
Maxar collected images of before / after damage to Russian aircraft as a result of Operation Spiderweb.
— George Barros (@georgewbarros) June 4, 2025
This is not a comprehensive view of the damage. Cloud cover obscured several of the other Russian airbases that were reportedly also struck by drones.
📷@Maxar pic.twitter.com/TgGbgBtNx1
Finally, he said VPNs are now a must for those who don’t want to be restricted to Russian services. He was unable to find a VPN that would work completely and had to switch between three of them. Some Russian websites detect the VPN and require it to be switched off.
Russian state propaganda has long pivoted from talking about a quick victory in Ukraine. In some straight out of a dystopian novel, it’s messaging often attempts to rebrand the war brought home to Russia as a good thing.
For example, Russia’s state TV channel Russia 1 recently noted regular internet outages in the industrial city of Vladimir due to “security concerns.” In Vladimir, data can be off for weeks.
The state TV reported residents previously were “inseparable from their smartphones,” but now people are spending more time in the real world talking with other people.
Russia 1 said, “When you’re disconnected from the internet, you start to appreciate simple things like walking, reading, and meeting with loved ones.” It added that being disconnected frees people from stress and anxiety.
The internet outages are being reported across Russia, and shops are to cash, while people are encouraged to stockpile cash.
Countering Ukraine’s burgeoning line-up of deep strike capabilities
Forbes noted Ukraine’s long-range drones increasingly “tap into Russia’s LTE networks for guidance and reconnaissance.”
Russia is switching cellular internet off “almost daily”. Forbes writes that Russia may be slowing Ukraine’s drones, but it is also “throttling its own economy.”
Ukraine’s drones, like Lyutyi, frequently rely on Russian cell towers to transmit telemetry and video back to Ukraine. Using the network, they are able to dodge air defences, adjust altitude, and fly to high-value targets.
The Novokuybyshevsk Refinery in the Samara region, Russia, has been struck by drones. A huge fire can be seen from Samara.
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) October 19, 2025
The refinery produces annually 7.9 million tons in oil products and is around 1,000 km (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border. pic.twitter.com/p5iRhb3JJV
Another major motivation to switch the internet off is to stop its own citizens from live-streaming drone attacks. Among other things, these provide convenient real-time damage assessments to Ukraine.
Russia is racing to find ways to counter Ukrainian drones. Following Ukraine’s lead, Russia is converting light aircraft, including designs dating from WWII, to shoot drones down. On October 21, Ukraine released footage showing it destroying the converted drone hunters on the ground in drone strikes.
Paranoid after Operation Spiderweb
It appears Russia got more paranoid after Ukraine’s enormously successful Operation Spiderweb. The operation saw Ukrainian FPV drones fly out of trucks, connect to the cellphone network, and destroy around 20% of Russia’s operational strategic bombers.
🔥BREAKING: The SBU has released unique footage from the special operation "Spiderweb"
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 4, 2025
The video captures FPV drone strikes by the SBU on four enemy airfields: Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya. Among the aircraft hit are the A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22 as well as the An-12. pic.twitter.com/Jyu0bjwBvO
Russia’s response has also been a series of bonus victories for Ukraine. Russia has dispersed its remaining bombers to remote airfields, requiring extremely long sorties to attack Ukraine. They are now more difficult to maintain, and increased wear and tear is undoubtedly chewing through their remaining useful lives.
At the same time, Russia doubled down on inspecting trucks, causing massive backlogs of trucks waiting. After Operation Spiderweb, mobile data outages have spiked. In June, there were 654 mobile data shutdowns, up almost 10x over the previous month. Na Svyazi reported the number soared passed 2,000 in July and August.
Russia creating a censored internet
Critics point out that there may be more to the internet shutdowns than just countering Ukrainian drones. In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Russia blocked Twitter (now X), Facebook, Signal, Instagram, and other social media. It has also taken steps to limit VPNs.
One Meduza article claims that Russians are frequently restricted to only accessing “whitelists” of websites. Whitelists are a list of websites that still work during a shutdown. Among the most affected regions is Russia’s Far East, that are out of reach of Ukraine’s drones, at least for now.
Whitelists limit access to independent information and block VPNs. The Meduza piece claims the introduction of these whitelists creates an incentive to make shutdowns permanent.
Seperately, Russia has also taken steps to temporarily block mobile internet for foreign SIM cards, meaning for some, roaming may not work.
The changing face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now been bogged down for more than 3.5 years. Should the war continue, by March 2026, it will have raged for longer than World War I.
Kazakhstan border control began customs inspections of all cargo transiting from China at the border with Russia to comply with sanctions.
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) October 2, 2025
Russians are also inspecting all incoming trucks because they're terrified of Operation Spiderweb 2.
This has led to giant queues and delays. pic.twitter.com/Pu4vg17aM4
Just as the participants of WWI thought the war would be quick, Russia thought it would be able to subdue Ukraine in short order. Like WWI, the war has passed through various stages. While Ukraine entered the war with little to no long-range attack capabilities, now it has a growing arsenal of capabilities to strike strategic targets deep in Russia.
Two new Ukrainian capabilities to make the headlines include the heavy FP-5 Flamingo long-range cruise missile and the Horynych, a long-range ‘strategic bomber’ drone built from a French ultralight.
Long-range strikes are now wreaking havoc on Russia’s oil refining capacity, a vital link in the Russian economy’s ability to generate revenue for the Kremlin. Meanwhile, it is estimated that a single day’s internet outage can cost the Russian economy hundreds of millions.
After Nokia and Ericsson pulled out of Russia, China’s Huawei was left as Russia’s last major telecom supplier.
This is to say nothing of the massive flight disruptions that are increasingly common across Russia as Ukraine’s drone strikes gain momentum. Russia is forced to close airspace, delay, or cancel flights. In July, over 2,000 flights were delayed and 485 were cancelled.
The risk of friendly fire to flights is very real. In December 2024, Russia shot down Azerbaijan Airlines’ Flight 8243. In 2025, flak fire reportedly struck an Aeroflot Boeing 737 as it approached Moscow, although it managed to land without major damage.
Featured Image: Ukraine social media
