Putin justifies internet cuts in Russia amid historic plunge in trust

Putin used a meeting with the Russian government to hear reports on current issues, including mobile internet limits, on April 23. Commenting on the topic, the dictator admitted that Russians faced restrictions in major cities and areas bordering Ukraine, citing defense against "terrorist attacks" (the Kremlin uses this term to describe Ukraine's campaign of long-range strikes on Russian military, defense-industrial, and oil infrastructure, the ISW reminded).

Putin tried to justify the internet limits by claiming that "protecting citizens" is a priority goal. Authorities cannot warn Russians about internet outages and limits in advance due to alleged security risks because "criminals also hear and see everything" and will "adjust their behavior and plans," he also claimed. At the same time, Putin urged the Russian government to be more "transparent" in explaining these restrictions.

Russian authorities have long used Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on legitimate targets inside Russia as an excuse to shut down the mobile internet, which impacts the daily lives of Russians and deprives them of the ability to use many basic services, from banking to transportation, the ISW noted.

Putin's April 23 statements marked the first time he personally and publicly acknowledged the internet limits (only Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had done so previously in mid-March 2026). Putin's acknowledgment of the impact these outages and limits have on the daily lives of Russians, who are increasingly feeling the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine, likely has two goals, ISW analysts suggested. First, the dictator's reaction is clearly a response to his declining domestic ratings; second, it serves as a way to justify continuing mobile internet restrictions amid the Kremlin's broader censorship campaign.

The Kremlin recently faced a harsher-than-expected public backlash over tightened censorship, the ISW reported in early April.

Vladimir Putin's trust rating dropped by five percent (from 76% to 71%) since March 22, according to Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) polling data. This marked the largest drop in Putin's trust rating since 2019.

Putin's trust rating has been steadily falling since Feb. 8, 2026, weekly FOM polls show. This is linked to the restrictions on Telegram's operations.

Several Russian propagandists and Z-bloggers complained that Moscow is wasting money on censorship despite rising prices and leaving Russian troops without communication on the battlefield, the Russian publication Vazhnye Istorii reported on April 3.