Breaking: Russian Internet Blocks Google News! Wagner Group's Rebellion Sparks Chaos! | June 26 2023
Channel: Hacking Space Frontier
Date: 2023-06-26

Russian internet service providers have blocked access to Google News in response to President Vladimir Putin's accusation against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, for organizing an armed rebellion. At least five Russian telecoms, including Rostelecom, U-LAN, and Telplusl, have implemented the block, preventing web users in Russia from accessing the news aggregator. Google has not yet responded to requests for comment.

The Wagner Group mercenaries reportedly crossed the border from Ukraine into Rostov-on-Don, a city near the Sea of Azov, without significant resistance from the regular army. The city houses Russia's southern military headquarters. BBC News reports that the Wagner forces are now moving north toward Moscow. Prigozhin, who is both the founder of the Wagner Group and the funder/creator of the Internet Research Agency (the troll farm involved in Russia's 2016 US election interference campaign), has vowed to overthrow Russia's Defense Ministry in response to a missile attack allegedly carried out by the regular army against Wagner personnel stationed in Ukraine.

President Putin has characterized Prigozhin's rebellion as a grave threat to Russian statehood and has promised severe consequences for those who join the paramilitary group. Putin stated that anyone who chooses the path of betrayal and armed rebellion, resorting to blackmail and terrorist methods, will face inevitable punishment.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the past year, many Western tech companies have either withdrawn from the country or faced service blocks imposed by the telecom regulator Roskomnadzor. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have been partially or fully blocked within Russia since March of the previous year.