At least five of Russia’s biggest internet providers have blocked Google News, according to the open internet advocacy group NetBlocks. The move comes after the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, denounced the head of Russia’s military and advocated for an armed uprising against the country’s military leaders.
“Metrics show that the Google News aggregator platform has become unavailable for many users in,” NetBlocks first reported after 7:00 p.m. ET.
There are also unconfirmed reports that major websites like Yandex, Russia’s version of Google, have started censoring Prigozhin’s name and any messages he’s trying to send out.
Prigozhin accused the Russian military of conducting an airstrike against his mercenary force and made threats against Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in a video published to Telegram, one of Russia’s most popular social media platforms. Prigozhin claims to have a force of 25,000 that will rise up against the “scum” in the Russian military.
“All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000. We are dying for the Russian people,” Prigozhin said in a message, according to the AFP.
Videos published across various social media channels show what are believed to be Wagner-controlled tanks in the Russian city of Rostov.
Russia’s Federal Security Service opened an investigation into Prigozhin late Friday and Russian officials have accused Prigozhin of advocating a coup against the Russian government. However, Prigozhin did not name Russian President Vladimir Putin in his video. Prigozhin had been given extreme latitude in criticizing the Russian military, his ostensible ally in the invasion of Ukraine—a war that started in February 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a statement that President Putin was aware of the situation and that his government was taking “all necessary measures,” according to the Washington Post.
“Special services and law enforcement agencies, namely the Defense Ministry, Federal Security Service, Interior Ministry and the Russian Guard, constantly report to the president in a round-the-clock mode on the measures taken in the context of the implementation of his earlier instructions,” Peskov reportedly said.
Prigozhin faces 20 years in prison, according to Russia’s TASS news outlet, but that’s assuming he’s ever captured.
Read the full article here
