On January 24, 2025, Russia experienced another widespread internet outage affecting multiple telecommunications operators and key online services. Users reported slow loading times, connectivity issues, and complete accessibility failures across various platforms, including Telegram, WhatsApp, and major mobile networks like Megafon and MTS.
Information from Downdetector, a service monitoring online outages, indicated significant disruptions early Friday morning. Many Russians took to social media to voice their frustration over slow or inaccessible websites, with Telegram being particularly affected.
According to sources, the recent outage seems linked to previous incidents, including major disruptions on January 14, where users across the country struggled to access both domestic and foreign resources for over half an hour. Notably, both times, the official response from operators indicated no internal infrastructure problems existed.
Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) reported potential issues originating at international junctions with European networks. It reassured users of active monitoring and stated there were no reported failures among other operators at the same time.
Despite the claims from Roskomnadzor, the issues continued to plague various services throughout the day. Alexei, a regular internet user from Moscow, shared, "I couldn’t load any videos on YouTube, and Telegram just wouldn’t send messages for hours! This is becoming a regular issue!" His frustrations echoed the sentiments of many others.
The situation escalated with claims of politically motivated hacking groups possibly being behind the outages. An anonymous cybersecurity source revealed to Forbes news outlet, “The source of the failure at Megafon on January 24 was attributed to carpet DDoS attacks carried out by hacker groups with political agendas.” This campaign reportedly targeted international junctions leading to the degradation of service reliability.
Such DDoS attacks involved overwhelming multiple IP addresses within the same network at once with low traffic loads—deceptively challenging to pinpoint via conventional monitoring systems. “Hacktivists have increasingly employed this technique, making it difficult to recognize their efforts before significant issues disrupt service quality,” detailed Michael Khelebunov, product director of Servicepipe.
While official statements from Megafon insisted on standard network operation and indicated the outages stemmed from factors beyond their control, consumers remain skeptical. The operator claimed incremental issues could be attributed to sporadic outages and not deliberate infrastructure failures. Yet, users continued reporting slow connectivity throughout the day, raising concerns about dependency on the functionality of these telecommunication services.
Incidents of mass outages have been increasing within the last month. Earlier this year, on January 6, users faced similar accessibility challenges. Roskomnadzor attributed these failures to identification of minor disruptions within the connectivity parameters between various service operators, effectively highlighting systemic vulnerabilities within the Russian internet infrastructure.
Industry experts believe persistent technical issues symbolize broader concerns over cybersecurity within the nation’s telecommunications network. “When outages impact both domestic and foreign communications at the same time, it challenges the perception of internet stability entirely,” stated Evgeny Pudovkin, technical director at Telecom Exchange.
Despite the frequency of these outages, the reaction from governmental bodies appears to downplay urgent regulatory changes or enhancements to network infrastructure. Instead, officials like Dmitry Peskov from the Kremlin firmly state, "Agencies should be responsible for ensuring operational stability to avoid future disruptions."
For many users, this assurance does little to mitigate current frustrations. Internet access has become increasingly integral to daily life, with heavy reliance on platforms for communication, commerce, and content consumption. Continued disruptions, particularly through acknowledged online avenues such as social media, have pressured officials to respond more proactively.
Meanwhile, as these challenges highlight both current congestion issues and potential vulnerabilities to infrastructural failures, many users remain hopeful for improvements forthcoming from both operators and governmental oversight committees. An anonymous user commented on social media, “It’s frustrating to see the same problems recurring. We need solutions, not excuses!”
A comprehensive review of the Russian internet infrastructure’s resilience to both technical flaws and potential cyber threats appears imperative moving forward. With growing dependency on digital channels for economic and social engagements, ensuring seamless connectivity is more than just operational; it is fast becoming existential for millions of Russians.