The three biggest Ukrainian mobile operators Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine, and Lifecell have started blocking access to Russian websites recently sanctioned by a May 16 order of President Petro Poroshenko, in advance of the deadline to comply by the new regulation.
The sanctions list includes such social networks as Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki, and also Mail.ru — all of them operate under the umbrella of Mail.ru Group. It also affects internet platforms Yandex and Kinopoisk.
The three carriers started technical preparations for the ban on May 17, according to a joint statement released by them on the same day. They said they would cut access on both desktop and mobile devices, including mobile applications.
Some users claim they still have access to Russian websites.
The banned websites are some of the most popular internet destinations for Ukrainians — more than 52 million users in Ukraine visit the webpages. According to Amazon, VK.com, Yandex.ua, OK.ru, and Mail.ru rank among Ukraine’s top-10 most popular websites.
Even Ukrainian President Poroshenko maintains official accounts on VKontakte and Odnoklassniki to issue statements and news releases. On VKontakte, he has 466,000 followers, for example.
The ban has sharply divided opinion in the country. Some saw the move as a blow to democratic rights, while others saw it as a long-overdue measure against what they believe to be Kremlin-controlled tools of influence on Ukrainian society.
Human Rights Watch, an international NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, has criticized Poroshenko’s move for suppressing freedom of expression in Ukraine.
The NGO argues Poroshenko should immediately reverse the ban and take steps to protect freedom of expression and information in the country.
Earlier, economic sanctions were imposed on Russian television channels TV Center, RBK, NTV-Plus, TNT, REN OTR, the independently owned Dozhd, and others. Their assets were blocked, and the channels were banned from broadcasting in Ukraine. The latest ban added indie RBK TV channel to these media.
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Krasnikov can be reached at [email protected].
