This Weekend, After The Internet Service In Kherson City, Ukraine Was Cut Off, The Russian Army Resumed Service, But Routed Through The Russian Network Rather Than Ukraine's Telecommunications Infrastructure Ukrainian Officials And Internet Access Monitoring Agency Netblocks Said That The Internet In Kherson City Was Almost Completely Shut Down On Saturday, And The Connections Of Ukrainian Suppliers Such As Ukrtelecom, Kyivstar And Voria Were Cut Off.
The State Special Communication And Information Protection Agency Of Ukraine (ssscip) Said That The Disconnection Was "caused By The Fracture Of Optical Fiber Backbone And The Power Failure Of Service Operators' Equipment In These Areas". The Service Resumed On Sunday, But The Connection Through Ukrainian Regional Supplier Skynet (khersontelecom) Is Now Being Routed Through Russia's Miranda And Rostelecom Networks.
Kherson Is The First Major Ukrainian City Captured By Russian Troops After The Invasion Began In February. Ssscip Said That In Addition To Herzon, Some Areas Of Zaporo Fever Were Also Affected By The Handover. According To Ssscip, The Aim Is To Make Russia's "false Propaganda An Indisputable Source Of Information", Adding That The Russian Army Also Wants To Show Some Signs Of Success In The Invasion Process By Establishing A "people's Republic" In The Occupied Territories.
"No Wonder After The Communication Was Cut Off, The Enemy Media Began To Spread False News That The Ukrainian Government Ordered The Closure Of The Connection. This Is A Lie Because We Have Always Insisted That All Ukrainians Make Maximum Use Of Any Means Of Communication," Sscip Said.
The Closure Of Ukrainian Communications Is Part Of Russia's Efforts To "bring About At Least One New Quasi State" In The Occupied Areas To Show The Russians That The Kremlin Is Making Progress In The War. Britain's Defense Ministry Said On Sunday That Russia Is Trying To Legalize Its Control Of Kherson By Placing Russian Government Officials In Power And Changing The Local Currency From Ukrainian Hryvna To Russian Ruble.
Ssscip Pointed Out That The Russian Army Had Shut Down Terrestrial Broadcasting, Telecommunications And The Internet, But Told Those Still In Herzon To Use The "medium Wave (1278, 1404, 873, 657 KHz)" Radio.
Doug Madori, Head Of Internet Analysis At Network Watch Kentik, Explained On Twitter That Herzon's Telecommunications Service Was Restored "through Russia's Transit From Nearby Crimea".
He Added That The Russian Army Had Done Similar Things After Occupying Crimea, Donetsk And Lugansk In 2014.
Ihor Kolykhaiev, Former Mayor Of Kherson, Told The BBC That About 40% Of The City's Population Had Fled Since Russia Took Over In March. Several News Media Said That Russia Plans To Hold A Referendum In The Region To Prove Its Effective Rule Over The Region.
"I'm Worried About A Humanitarian Disaster. I'm Worried About The People Who Are Still In The City Today. They Are All Hostages." Kolihayev Told The Media.