Military censorship in Russia hits new high – 25,000 sites blocked

The latest batch of websites banned by the Kremlin includes British tabloid The Sun, French news outlet L'Internaute, and the website of Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv football club.

The total number of blocked websites in Russia has now exceeded 25,000, according to the Russian non-governmental organization Roskomsvoboda.

The last time they evaluated the scope of blocked websites was August 2024, when there were 20,000 blocked sites. According to Roskomsvoboda, the pace of Russian censorship has slowed. However, in the past year, they still restricted access to approximately 5,000 additional sites.

The organization noted that the actual number of blocked resources is likely much higher because it cannot account for sites that were removed voluntarily to avoid ISP-level blocking. Many entities proactively delete their pages to avoid being blocked altogether.

In 2022, Russia introduced so-called wartime censorship laws designed to limit discourse opposing the Kremlin’s narrative. Individuals spreading “fake” news or otherwise discrediting the Russian armed forces can face penalties of up to 15 years in prison. Organizations like Amnesty International oppose these laws, stating they “must go.”

Here’s a handful of newly blocked websites:

1. The Sun
2. L'Internaute
3. Kyiv Dynamo
4. Site of a Russian rapper and singer, Noize MC
5. Marca, a Spanish tabloid newspaper covering sports
6. Site of a Russian singer-songwriter Монеточка

Many blocked sites include links requesting donations to Ukraine, and mirrors of media outlets like the BBC, which was originally blocked back in 2022, websites of Ukrainian and International foundations, and even educational websites.