Russia is blocking WhatsApp and other Western social media platforms, media outlets, and means of bypassing internet restrictions as part of an intensification of the Kremlin’s campaign to reassert control over the Russian information space and prevent access to the global internet.[1] Meta-owned messaging application WhatsApp reported on the evening of February 11 that the Russian government attempted to fully block access to WhatsApp and isolate over 100 million users.[2]Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on February 12 that Russia began restricting WhatsApp due to Meta’s alleged unwillingness to comply with Russian laws, likely referring to Russia’s heavy censorship laws.[3] Peskov stated that Russia would only remove the restrictions on WhatsApp if Meta is willing to comply with Russian laws and engage with Russian authorities.
Russian opposition outlets reported on February 11 that Russian federal censor Roskomnadzor blocked WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, the Tor browser, the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), RFE/RL’s Systema investigative project, Deutsche Welle, the Moscow Times, virtual private network (VPN) service Windscribe, and a site for installing applications onto Android smartphones to bypass application stores.[4] The opposition outlets reported that Roskomnadzor removed these sites from Russia’s National Domain Name System (NSDS), part of Russia’s sovereign “RuNet” internet system that uses state-controlled domain name servers (DNS) to match IP addresses with domain addresses and connect users with websites. Russian telecommunications providers are legally required to use the NSDS, therefore routing internet traffic through the RuNet-controlled DNS and prevent users from accessing websites not on the NSDS.[5] Russian opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii noted that it is unclear when Roskomnadzor removed these websites from the NSDS and that users can manually bypass these blocks by changing the DNS server their devices use to browse the internet.[6] Vazhnye Istorii reported that Roskomnadzor only blocked the WhatsApp web browser and that many users are still able to send messages through the WhatsApp application on their devices. Vazhnye Istorii reported that Roskomnadzor began throttling WhatsApp in December 2025 and that while there have been spikes in reports of issues with WhatsApp and YouTube in recent days, these spikes are still relatively small and do not suggest widespread issues accessing the services.
The Kremlin’s restrictions against WhatsApp and other Western social media platforms, news outlets, and online services follow Russian throttling of Telegram on February 9 and 10.[7] The Kremlin is likely intensifying efforts to restrict access to Telegram, WhatsApp, and other Western social media platforms, news sites, and internet services in order to incentivize Russians to switch to state-controlled messenger app Max, as previous Russian efforts to do so have been largely ineffective.[8] ISW will outline the Kremlin’s intensified efforts to regain control over the Russian information space and dismantle the open internet in Russia in a forthcoming special edition.
Ukrainian forces are conducting localized and opportunistic counterattacks near the Dnipropetrovsk-Zaporizhia Oblast administrative border, likely to take advantage of recent blocks on Starlink terminals and Telegram. Geolocated footage published on February 12 shows Russian strikes against static Ukrainian positions east of the Haichur River, including east of and in southern Dobropillya and north of Varvarivka (both northwest of Hulyaipole).[9] This footage indicates that Ukrainian forces likely maintained control of these positions prior to February 12 and are likely using localized counterattacks to reconnect these frontline positions to each other. Russian forces likely bypassed these Ukrainian positions during infiltration missions to exaggerate the extent of Russian gains in the area. ISW began observing reports of limited and localized Ukrainian counterattacks near the Dnipropetrovsk-Zaporizhia Oblast administrative border on February 9.[10] Russian milbloggers initially portrayed these counterattacks as a broader Ukrainian “counteroffensive,” but Ukrainian military sources and some Russian milbloggers have since indicated that the Ukrainian counterattacks are limited in scale and span.[11] Russian milbloggers have continued to claim that Ukrainian forces are conducting counterattacks north and northwest of Hulyaipole, but noted that the situation on the ground is unclear due to degraded Russian communications on the frontline.[12]
Ukrainian forces conducted a series of missile and drone strikes against Russian military, defense industrial, and oil infrastructure on the night of February 11 to 12, including with Ukrainian-produced FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles.
Available independent reporting continues to indicate that 2025 was the deadliest year for Ukrainian citizens since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The open-source project Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) reported on February 9 that the Russians caused conflict-related violence in Ukraine, including in occupied areas, killed at least 2,919 civilians, and injured 17,775 in 2025 — increases of 12 percent and 25 percent, respectively, from 2024.[24] The CIT reported that drone strikes killed at least 1,376 civilians and injured at least 10,089 — more casualties than all other types of weapons combined and almost three times higher than the civilian casualty rates resulting from drone strikes in 2024. These numbers are consistent with findings from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) and a reported European government assessment of 2025 civilian casualties from January 12.[25] The UN HRMMU noted that Russian strikes against Ukrainian-controlled areas caused 97 percent of the total civilian casualties in 2025. The CIT noted that Russian strikes inflicted the highest civilian casualties in Kherson Oblast, killing 359 civilians and injuring 2,903 in 2025 — an increase of 24 percent and 35 percent from 2024, respectively. This increase in civilian casualties is notable despite the lack of large-scale combat activity in the Kherson direction. Russian forces pervasively employ “human safari” tactics in Kherson Oblast using tactical drones, especially first-person view (FPV) drones, to strike civilians and civilian infrastructure.[26] Russian forces have also integrated intentional civilian harm into their wider operation battlefield air interdiction (BAI) template, indicating that the Russian military is using FPV drones to weaponize civilian harm as an intentional tool of war.[27]
Key Takeaways
- Russia is blocking WhatsApp and other Western social media platforms, media outlets, and means of bypassing internet restrictions as part of an intensification of the Kremlin’s campaign to reassert control over the Russian information space and prevent access to the global internet.
- Ukrainian forces are conducting localized and opportunistic counterattacks near the Dnipropetrovsk-Zaporizhia Oblast administrative border, likely to take advantage of recent blocks on Starlink terminals and Telegram.
- Ukrainian forces conducted a series of missile and drone strikes against Russian military, defense industrial, and oil infrastructure on the night of February 11 to 12, including with Ukrainian-produced FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles.
- Available independent reporting continues to indicate that 2025 was the deadliest year for Ukrainian citizens since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- The United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands announced new military aid, particularly to support Ukrainian air defense.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Borova and Hulyaipole. Russian forces recently advanced in northern Kharkiv Oblast and near Slovyansk.