Ukraine considers restrictions on mobile services to counter Russian drones

Ukraine could deliberately reduce the quality of mobile communications during Russian drone attacks to prevent the networks from being used to coordinate attacks. This was stated by the Chief of the General Staff, Andriy Hnatov.

In recent months, Russia has intensified its drone attacks on Ukraine, improved its technology, and increased the number of drones deployed to cause as much damage as possible to strategic targets and critical infrastructure.

“This is not an interruption of mobile communications, but rather a restriction of communication quality in certain areas, for example by limiting 4G and 5G connections. This is to prevent the modems they use on their unmanned aerial vehicles from connecting to our operators' internet,” Hnatov said.

According to local media reports, shutting down fast mobile internet makes sense in order to combat drones with cameras that transmit images and require a 4G connection to operate.

Russia has frequently ordered the shutdown of mobile internet during the war to disrupt Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters reports.

(reuters, est)