Russia Banned Google News as Wagner Group Mercenaries Try to ‘Organise’ a Coup Against Russian Government
Russia is not yet done with invading Ukraine but is now facing its own war with the mercenary leaders of the Wagner Group. Before the incident, Russia banned Google News, preventing internet users from accessing the service.
Google News Banned in Russia
Several telecommunication firms blocked the service, including U-LAN, Telplus, and Rostelecom. They want to prevent users from accessing Google News which accumulates news from other sources, local and overseas. Many internet providers started minimising access after Russian generals implicated Yevgeny V. Prigozhin in a coup attempt.
The Wagner Group mercenaries’ rebellion started as rumours, but the ongoing rebellion proved otherwise. On Friday, Russian officials charged Wagner Group leader, Prigozhin with organising a coup to oust President Vladimir V. Putin. They also accused the mercenary leader of “establishing an armed rebellion.”
In March 2022, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s internet regulator, announced that it would block Google News from Russia’s internet users following its cessation of advertising in the country. It stalled online content that disseminated false information to agree with Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
Roskomnadzor is one of the larger tech structures that Putin has dShoigueveloped over the years to rein through technology channels. Aside from strict supervision of Russia’s internet, authorities likewise utilised a domestic spying system. It monitors the flow of internet traffic and phone calls and circulates online propaganda campaigns. Moreover, this system hacks other countries’ government systems.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several Western tech companies withdrew their services and products out of Russia or were blocked. Netflix and Tiktok discontinued their services while Facebook was blocked. Also, Twitter was relatively blocked, while Samsung, Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco, Apple, and others backed off or totally withdrew.
Wagner Group Mercenaries Infiltrates Russia City
Prigozhin called on his private military to overthrow Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He accused the defense minister of giving an order to strike his (Prigozhin’s) field camps in Ukraine, where his troops fight on behalf of Russia. He added that Shoigu will face the consequences in a n armed rebellion and persuaded the army not to provide resistance.
The Wagner private military contractor claimed Kremlin took the threat seriously and increased its security in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. The latter is a city where the Russian military headquarters, at the same time, is administering the war in Ukraine.
The ramification of the confrontation was still uncertain. However, it seemed to further hamper Moscow’s war feat as Kyiv’s forces investigate Russian defenses in the first stages of a retribution.
According to Prigozhin, his troops crossed into Russia from Ukraine on Saturday and reached Rostov. He claimed that there was no resistance from young mercenaries at checkpoints. Besides, he said that his forces are not malevolent against children.
“But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way. We are moving forward and will go until the end. This is not a military coup, but a march of justice, said Prigozhin.
He asserted that Gen. Valery Gerasimov scuffled warplanes to attack Wagner’s convoys which drove apace with ordinary vehicles. The mercenary leader added that his troop brought down a Russian military helicopter but still has no independent confirmation.
Image Source: Bastian Riccardi/Pexels
