Moscow residents and businesses face disruption as authorities restrict mobile internet access

Businesses in Moscow are facing growing disruption after authorities restricted mobile internet services across the city.

Many foreign websites were blocked on mobile phones in central Moscow on Friday as restrictions continued for more than a week.

The disruptions have affected daily life for millions of residents and caused financial losses for businesses that rely on mobile internet.

Russian officials say the measures are intended to protect the capital from Ukrainian drone attacks.

However, some technology experts believe the restrictions could also be part of wider preparations to limit access to the global internet if the Kremlin decides to impose stricter controls.

Mobile internet outages have also been reported in several other regions of Russia in recent months.

During the disruptions, only selected websites and services approved by authorities have remained accessible through special “white lists”.

However, reports indicate that even some government services, banks and taxi apps stopped working during the outages.