Russia blocks dozens of VPN providers in sweeping internet crackdown

On August 4‑5 2026, Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor targeted the IP addresses and entire subnets of major hosting providers, causing a widespread outage of more than 20 popular VPN services, including VPN Generator, VPN Legend, GaMMa VPN, LTVPN, ABS and FoxyBot. The block was described by anti‑corruption activist Leonid Volkov as “the largest in history.” The Ministry of Digital Development had been discussing tighter controls over corporate VPNs and plans to monitor hosting providers to quickly remove disguised circumvention tools from a whitelist. No comment was given by Roskomnadzor. The crackdown follows a broader pattern of increasing internet censorship in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, limiting citizens’ access to independent news and foreign platforms.