Occupiers strengthen control over mobile communications in Donetsk region - CNS
Kyiv • UNN
Residents of occupied Donetsk region complain about multi-hour queues at mobile operator service points due to mass blocking of numbers and forced re-registration of SIM cards. This is an element of total control over the communications of the population in the temporarily occupied territory.
Residents of temporarily occupied Donetsk region complain about chronic multi-hour queues at mobile operator service points. They note that the reason for the queues is the massive blocking of numbers and forced re-registration of SIM cards, which the occupation authorities present as a "technical procedure." This was reported by the Center for National Resistance of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (CNS), according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that people are forced to come to Donetsk from other cities, including Volnovakha and nearby settlements, queue up in the morning and wait for 4-6 hours. In some cases, attempts to re-register last for weeks or even months without success due to the limited number of service points and constant changes in requirements.
Representatives of the occupation authorities explain the "data update" by adhering to the so-called "security measures." However, according to analysts, this is an element of total control over the communications of the population in the temporarily occupied territory. Blocking numbers without transparent grounds and the requirement of personal presence for "confirmation" create artificial administrative chaos and make access to communication dependent on the decisions of the occupation apparatus.
It is indicated that for residents of Donetsk region, due to the shortage of service points and constant refusals for formal reasons, communication is actually turning from a basic need into a privilege: this is especially painful for the elderly, people with disabilities, and residents of remote settlements, for whom every trip to the city is an additional financial and physical burden.
"Such practice is part of "preventive measures" and the fight against the so-called "unreliable" segments of the population. Communications are used as a tool of discipline, identification, and further pressure on the population of the temporarily occupied territories," the CNS summarizes.
Recall
Residents of Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk, and Rubizhne have been living without mobile communication and internet for two years. The occupation authorities ignore appeals and explain the lack of communication by "control over information flows" and "proximity to the front line."