IT blockade of Crimea

Sanctions against Crimea

Of the technology companies, one of the first to ban the sale of their products in the Crimea in connection with the sanctions of their partners notified Apple. A letter sent to partners in January 2015, citing the "Export Obligations" of the distributor's agreement, stated that the authorized dealer undertakes not to sell Apple products and/or provide services related to Apple products to the Crimea in connection with US sanctions .

In addition to supplying products, Apple also unilaterally terminated cooperation agreements with Crimean app developers and began to block access to the App Store for users whose accounts indicate Crimea as their place of residence.

They also demanded to stop selling their products in Crimea due to sanctions from Russian partners in January Dell. In HP its letter to partners, HP, in particular, indicated a ban from February 1 on the supply of any goods, services or technologies to the Crimea, including. ON

Visa, MasterCard and PayPal payment systems also notified of the termination of work in Crimea . Access to its services for residents of Crimea has also limited Google, in particular, to Google Apps. Free services, such as mail, search and maps, the company left accessible for residents of Crimea.

Since January 31, 2015, the world's largest registrar of domain names GoDaddy stopped providing Crimean users with the registration and hosting services of the current year, but promised to return the unused fee. The company announced plans to close the accounts of Crimean users and withdraw the previously provided domains from them.

The game company Blizzard Entertainment, which produces games such as World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, in April 2015 began to block the accounts of players from the Crimea. It is reported by the publication "Kanobu" with reference to information from readers. The publication refers to a letter from developers published by one of the users. It says that "the company is obliged to take such measures to comply with legal restrictions on trade with some countries/regions." The same restrictions will not allow Blizzard to return money to players or transfer games to other accounts.

Booking tightened policy in Crimea

In January 2022, Booking introduced new restrictions in the Crimea. One of them - you can book a room for only one adult tourist in accordance with the requirements of business trips. More details here.

Amazon will pay a fine of $134.5 thousand for violating sanctions against Crimea, Iran and Syria

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest Internet retailer, will pay a fine of $134.523 thousand to resolve claims by US authorities related to the company's violation of a number of sanctions programs, Amazon USA^[1]

OFAC notes that "due to the shortcomings of the automated sanctions tracking system, Amazon.com the company supplied goods and services to people subject to OFAC sanctions, customers in regions or countries affected by sanctions programs, including Crimea, Iran and Syria, as well as individuals located or working in foreign missions of states under US sanctions."

Between November 2011 and October 2018, persons located in the Crimea, Iran and Syria placed orders for the purchase of consumer goods and services on the Amazon.com platform, and in the details of the transactions it was clearly traced that delivery would be carried out to regions under US sanctions, the regulator said in a statement.

In Amazon.com service, orders of the people who are or working in the foreign missions of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria for which sanctions regimes are also in place were also taken and processed.

The total amount of transactions, taking into account deliveries to individuals under various OFAC sanctions, amounted to about $269 thousand.

Taking into account the fact that Amazon voluntarily notified the regulator of a number of violations committed, OFAC did not recover from it the maximum fine provided for by current law, but decided to limit itself to half the amount of transactions concluded with violations of sanctions programs.

Amazon.com shares add 1.2% in trading on Wednesday.

EU Council extends "Crimean sanctions" for another year

"Today, the Council decided to resume the sanctions imposed in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation until June 23, 2021," the EU Council communiqué said on June 18, 2020.

The decision to extend the "Crimean package" of sanctions was agreed without discussion by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU countries (Coreper) on June 10.

"As indicated in the statement of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU on March 16, 2020, the EU still does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and continues to condemn this violation of international law," the document says.

The EU Council adopted restrictive measures in June 2014 as a reaction to the "illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation."

These measures apply to EU individuals and companies based in the European Union. They are limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.

Sanctions include a ban on the import of products from Crimea or Sevastopol to the EU, investments in Crimea or Sevastopol, tourist services in Crimea or Sevastopol, in particular, European cruise ships cannot enter ports on the Crimean peninsula, except in cases of emergency.

In addition, there is a ban on the export of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors, as well as related to the exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources; Technical assistance, mediation, construction or engineering services related to infrastructure in these sectors are prohibited.

The "Crimean package" of sanctions is extended for a year. In Brussels, they say that the European Union will never recognize the annexation of Crimea to Russia.

Blocking users GitHub

At the end of July 2019, it became known that the GitHub service began to block developers from countries and regions (Crimea among them) who fell under US sanctions. More details here.

Blocking Slack Users

In December 2018, Slack began blocking accounts for visiting territories (including Crimea) that fell under US sanctions. The administration of the corporate messenger explained this with errors when updating the geolocation system. More details here.

Booking.com hid ratings and reviews for hotels in Crimea

The online hotel booking service Booking.com in July 2018 hid the ratings of hotels in Crimea and feedback from verified users, on the basis of which final estimates are formed. The corresponding letter from the portal administration to the owners of accommodation facilities on the peninsula was at the disposal of RBC. The reason for this decision in the document is called EU sanctions against Russia.

"Although business travelers can still book accommodation options in Crimea, any feedback they share can be misinterpreted by the authorities as something the company Booking.com offers tourist services in the region. To avoid any misunderstandings regarding the kind of services that we offer travelers in the Crimea, unfortunately, we must deactivate guest reviews for all accommodation facilities in the Crimea until further notice, "the letter says

.

The central office of the company owning the portal "Booking.com B.V." is located in the capital. Holland Amsterdam Thus, the company may be punished for violating the "Crimean" restrictions for companies from the EU, which entered into force on December 20, 2014. They suggest that any organization under jurisdiction European Union does not have the right to provide services directly related tourist to activities in the Republic of Crimea and. Sevastopol Restrictions were introduced in connection with the accession of the peninsula to Russia in March 2014.

EU Council extends sanctions against Crimea and Sevastopolya‍

The Council of the European Union extended the sanctions on the Crimea and Sevastopol until June 23, 2019.

Unilateral restrictive measures Brussels prohibit citizens and EU-based companies from importing products from the Crimea, investing in the economy of the peninsula, providing tourist services, exporting to the Crimea some goods and technologies in the fields of transport telecommunications and, power engineering specialists as well as related to the extraction and processing of oil, gas and minerals. minerals

"Technical assistance, mediation services, construction or engineering services related to infrastructure in these sectors should also not be provided," the message adds.

Such a decision was expected before the formal expiration of the current sanctions on June 23. At the end of May, the draft document on the extension of restrictive measures in Crimea and Sevastopol was considered by the main preparatory body of the EU Council - the committee of permanent representatives of the EU member states.

Earlier, an EU source said that the decision on their possible extension "should be made unanimously" by EU member states. In March, the head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, confirmed the EU's intention to maintain sanctions against Moscow over Crimea.

Fedora banned from exporting to Crimea

On September 5, 2017, on the website of the community of Russian-speaking participants in the international project Fedora GNU/LinuxProject Operating System^[2] was banned^[3] a message banning the export of the Fedora GNU/Linux distribution to Crimea. The decision was made in accordance with the new Fedora export agreement in accordance with US sanctions against Russia.

The Fedora Product Export Management page indicates that Fedora distributions under the U.S. Export Administration Rules (EAR) cannot be exported, re-exported, or transferred to a number of countries in accordance with U.S. laws. Currently, such countries include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, as well as Crimea.

The message separately indicates the current rule of the project "Don't ask, don't tell" according to which, users and project participants are not required to report where they come from and where they intend to use Fedora. The project administration recommends that new and existing community members not include their citizenship in their personal data. The user will be denied participation in the project only if he, being a citizen of the country to which the United States imposed restrictions, intentionally reports his^[4].

Ukraine dismantled communication lines with Crimea

Ukraine dismantled the backbone fiber-optic communication lines (VOLS) connecting it with Crimea, the Kryminform agency reported, citing a competent source. Unlike the agency informant, who said that the VOLS infrastructure was destroyed by the Ukrainian side, the general director of one of the largest Internet providers on the Zima Peninsula, Ivan, could not declare the same. However, according to him, Crimea has not really received traffic from Ukraine for more than a week^[5].

He noted that, in fact, the Crimea did not need Ukrainian VOLS at all, since on the peninsula a few days before the shutdown, a backup system of a fiber-optic transmission line with a large capacity was launched in case of force majeure. Winter assured that the customers of the provider did not experience any inconvenience.

At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Polonsky said that now Crimea is in a single infrastructure with Russia, and therefore "absolutely independent" from the actions of Ukraine.

Ukraine began criminal prosecution of Booking.com because of Crimea

The activities of the online hotel booking service Booking.com in Ukraine may be suspended. The reason is the criminal proceedings initiated by the Ukrainian authorities against Booking.com in connection with its reservation of seats in hotels in Crimea^[6].

The fact of the start of a pre-trial investigation was announced on his page on the social network Facebook by Verkhovna Rada deputy Georgy Logvinsky. The proceedings were launched by the Ukrainian prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea after Logvinsky's statement. Logvinsky also published the response of the prosecutor's office, where he agrees to open an investigation, on his page.

Today, the site Booking.com offers 4225 options for living in the Crimea.

The site is owned by The Priceline Group, which is based in the United States and owns five more travel brands in addition to Booking.com. At the same time, Agoda.net, another site of the same company, does not offer places in hotels in Crimea.

Western IT giants ready for giant losses due to Crimea?

US Treasury allowed American Internet companies to serve Crimea for free

Ministry of Finance USA issued in May 2015 an explanation of the sanctions on exports software to the Crimea, which were adopted on December 19, 2014, according to "" Sheets^[7]According to the document, Internet companies can provide services to Crimeans, but only for free.

The US Treasury issued an explanation of the sanctions on the export of software to the Crimea, which were adopted on December 19, 2014, according to Vedomosti. According to the document, Internet companies can provide services to Crimeans, but only for free.

The agency does not explain whether advertising in the service is a free service. Thus, it is not fully known whether Facebook, Twitter and other services that receive revenue from advertising can work in Crimea.

Google has opened access to its services in Sevastopol

June 23, 2015 it became known: Google restored access to the Google Play content store for residents of the city of Sevastopol^[8]

The company introduced restrictions on February 1, 2015 by presidential decree. USA Barack Obama

Owners Android-smartphones in Sevastopol gained access to the store Google Play and can download applications, films, music and other content to their devices without restrictions.

A group of users of the Sevastopol Internet Forum forum.sevastopol.info noted the resumption of the store's functionality on June 22, 2015. Users shared information about the start of synchronization sessions of the Google Chrome browser.

According to local media, on the morning of June 23, 2015, Google lifted the ban on the operation of its services from the territory of Sevastopol.

All this time, users in the city of Sevastopol circumvented the ban on access to Google and Apple services, using a VPN following the example of residents of China, where strict Internet censorship applies.

Visa and MasterCard turned off banks operating in Crimea

In December 2015, several banks operating in Crimea fell under the restrictions of the international payment systems Visa and MasterCard. This happened after the US authorities expanded their sanctions, blacklisting banks^[9].

Customers of Genbank, Kraiinvestbank, Sevastopol Maritime Bank (SMB), Verkhnevolzhsky Bank, as well as Inresbank and Mosoblbank lost the opportunity to conduct part of the operations on their Visa and MasterCard cards, the Vedomosti newspaper reports citing a statement by several bankers. According to the publication, international payment systems notified banks of the shutdown due to their blacklisting by the US Treasury Department.

Blocking the money of Google partners in Crimea

Google Corporation closed the accounts of users of the advertising network AdSense in Crimea and blocked the withdrawal of funds from accounts in the system, RIA Novosti reported in January 2015. Users were informed about the changes by mailing. A letter to Google users AdSense says that Google blocked the accounts of users registered in the Crimea, and will not be able to provide them with unpaid funds from their account^[10].

This step was taken in accordance with the decree imposing sanctions on Crimea, which was signed on December 19, 2014 by US President Barack Obama. According to the decree (PDF), American companies are forbidden to export their products and technologies to the peninsula, as well as provide services to users in the Crimea. AdSense is a Google advertising network that allows you to place contextual text and graphic advertisements on sites included in the network, as well as on your own website ads of other users, receiving money for this. The service was launched in 2003.

In addition to AdSense, restrictions will affect the AdWords service (advertising in Google search results), TASS reports citing a source in Google. In addition, from February 1, 2015, the corporation will close access for Crimean users to the Google Play Android app store. "Access will remain to free Google services, such as search, Gmail mail and mapping service," the company added.

Public reaction

At the end of January 2015, the non-profit organization Public Consumer Initiative (OPI), created with the support of the Russian State University of Trade and Economics (RGTEU) in Moscow, filed a lawsuit against Apple. According to the OPI, Apple's refusal to sell and provide services related to its products in Crimea, which is part of the territory of the Russian Federation, is contrary to the law "On Consumer Protection."

The OPI also stated that as the evidence base becomes available, it is planned to file lawsuits against other American companies, including HP, Dell, Google and PayPal.

The head of the FAS, Igor Artemyev, in his comments to the media about Apple's ban on the supply of products, noted that the company's decision will not prevent Crimean residents from buying its products, since it is easy to supply it from neighboring regions of the Russian Federation. The official added that "if the Soviet Union could not cope with the flows of products that were forbidden to move somewhere, it is ridiculous to even talk about it."

A resident of Sevastopol is suing Google for the right to access the application service

March 16, 2015 it became known about the lawsuit "Dmitry Mishin against Google," the essence of which is the requirement to return access to the Google Play application catalog. At the same time, the plaintiff declared insufficient knowledge of geography among Google representatives, since, according to him, Sevastopol is not part of the Crimea and is considered a separate administrative-territorial unit^[11].

Google blocked Google Play in accordance with the sanctions imposed in December 2014 on the Crimean peninsula.

A resident of Sevastopol, Dmitry Mishin, filed a lawsuit against Google in the Leninsky District Court of Sevastopol, demanding the restoration of Google services on his smartphone, with the recovery of compensation for non-pecuniary damage and a fine from the company. The court hearing is scheduled for March 24, 2015.

According to user reports MEDIA, , on February 1, 2015, applications Android from the catalog stopped working, updating and downloading on devices used in Sevastopol. Google Play An error message 403, "access denied," is displayed when attempting to load. Earlier, the appearance of similar messages was reported Internet on social networks by users - Androidsmartphones those in the Crimea.

Unable to access Google Play, Mishin turned to the manufacturer of the device (brand Prestigio). Vendor explained that the functions do not work due to the fault of Google, "which unilaterally decided to stop providing services to people served in Sevastopol."

In turn, a representative of the Google support service announced the suspension of access to these services in Sevastopol on the basis of the decree of the President of the United States of America Obama (Barack Obama) of December 19, 2014. From this date, the United States imposed sanctions in response to the actions of the Russian government, which changed the geopolitical situation in the world. The United States refuses to recognize the Crimean peninsula as the territory of the Russian Federation.

Mishin demanded that Google resume the possibility of using the services on the basis that the decree "provides for a ban on the activities of companies registered in the United States and their branches in the" Ukrainian region of Crimea. " The plaintiff indicated that Sevastopol is not part of the Crimea and is a separate administrative-territorial unit. Mishin also did not find a mention of Sevastopol in the materials on the Google website, which would talk about limiting the service of residents of Sevastopol.

The plaintiff believes that the American corporation caused him "severe moral suffering." The moral harm of Sevastopol estimated at 10 thousand rubles. In addition, he intends to recover from Google a fine of 5 thousand rubles. for refusing to voluntarily fulfill his requirements.

Mishin has experience in litigation with the Irish representative office of Google. At the beginning of 2015, the Lenin court considered his private lawsuit to protect consumer rights. Then two lawyers of the company arrived in Sevastopol. The court decision indicated the need to appeal to the British court.

According to Mishin: "If now the decision is the same, you need to collect money and go to sue in the United States."

Since February 1, 2015, activities in the Crimea have been curtailed not only, Google but also,,, and Apple Hewlett-Packard Dell PayPal other high-tech companies.

State agencies of Crimea are trying to break the IT blockade

Reuters: Russian state-owned companies purchase Microsoft software bypassing sanctions

Russian state-owned companies, as well as Crimean enterprises, bought software Microsoft Corp., despite the ban on American companies from entering into transactions with them. This was reported by the news agency Reuters with reference to anonymous sources and data from the public procurement website (see). Public procurement of IT in Russia

After analyzing the database, the agency revealed that Russian state organizations and Crimean enterprises that fell under sanctions purchased at least 5 thousand Microsoft products worth more than 60 million rubles (about $1.03 million). According to Reuters, the amount of purchases is relatively small, but this software is important for the activities of Russian and Crimean enterprises. According to one of the agency's interlocutors, if you turn off all Microsoft software products in the Crimea, 90% of the peninsula's economy will stop.

Among the buyers, Reuters names the Almaz-Antey concern (developer of Buk anti-aircraft missile systems), the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia, as well as the Crimea sanatorium of the Russian Ministry of Defense. All three organizations purchased the Open License Program, which obliges users to enter the full name of the company and its address. The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request from Reuters. Representatives of the Glavgosexpertiza said that the institution "works in the Russian legal field in strict accordance with the requirements of Russian law."^[12].

After the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation, Microsoft took measures to prevent the sale of its products to enterprises subject to sanctions, agency sources said. However, according to people involved in the deals, there are ways to circumvent restrictions. One of the methods is not to indicate the Crimean address when registering the product, three sources who participated in the sales said. According to them, most often in such cases they use addresses in the Krasnodar Territory. As the supplier who worked with the company from the sanctions list said, the supplier and the client can circumvent the restrictions by registering Microsoft products with an end-user subsidiary or parent.

According to Microsoft representatives, the company is "firmly committed to complying with legal requirements" and in recent weeks has been studying the issue of supplying its products bypassing sanctions.

Google obliged to lift restrictions on Crimea to implement the FAS decision

In April 2017, Izvestia reported that the agreement signed between Google and the FAS, among other things, provides for the operation of the Google Play app store throughout the country. Thus, we are talking about the Crimea and Sevastopol, where the company is obliged to provide local residents with the opportunity to choose a search engine.

Elena Zaeva, head of the FAS communications and information technology regulation department, told RBC that the settlement agreement is valid throughout the Russian Federation for Android users with a pre-installed app store and Google search. "In case of non-fulfillment, there should be direct coercion from the court as part of a settlement agreement," she said^[13].

Vladimir Entin, a lawyer at the Klishin & Partners Interregional Bar Association, told RBC: "If the term" on the territory of the Russian Federation "is used in the concluded settlement agreement, then it is also subject to Russian law." He also stressed that this agreement was concluded between the state body of the Russian Federation (FAS Russia) and a private company operating in Russia. "No private law organization can arbitrarily exclude a part of the Russian Federation from the scope of the settlement agreement," Entin said.

According to the expert, the consequences of non-compliance with the settlement agreement will fall on the side that violated it. "If Google does not comply with the terms of the settlement agreement, then in this case the part of the conditions that relates to the limitation of the amount of the fine also ceases to apply. If the condition of the settlement agreement is not fulfilled further, then there should be a repeated recovery until this condition of the settlement agreement is fulfilled, "Entin explained.

The settlement agreement concluded the day before led to the termination of the antitrust case against Google, which lasted since 2015. The reason for it was a complaint from Yandex, which stated that Google, which owns the Android mobile operating system, prohibits other developers from pre-installing applications on smartphones and tablets from Fly, Explay and Prestigio manufacturers.

Mobile communication services provided about 97% of the territory of Crimea

At the end of 2016, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation announced the results of the development of mobile communication services in the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal significance Sevastopol in 2016. According to preliminary data, according to the results of 2016, about 97% of the peninsula was provided with modern mobile services.

According to official information, the most noticeable growth in the networks of Crimean mobile operators is noted in the Internet access services sector. So, in 2016, there is an almost double increase in Internet traffic in Crimea compared to 2015. In total, users of cellular services in Crimea in 2016 consumed over 200 TB of traffic. There is also an increase in the consumption of voice services. Compared to the beginning of 2016, the load on the Crimean mobile networks in terms of voice services in November of this year increased by about 15%: the volume of voice traffic amounted to 2.2 billion minutes per month. Peak values ​ ​ of the use of Crimean mobile networks were reached at the height of the resort season: in August 2016, more than 3 million subscribers were registered daily in the networks of peninsula operators. The cellular operators of Crimea continue to modernize networks, the number of base stations supporting the communication of the latest fourth-generation LTE standard is expanding, and trunk lines of fiber-optic networks are being laid.

Russian cellular communications has been operating in Crimea since August 2014. In the same month, the first segment of the third generation network was launched; in May 2015, the provision of fourth-generation communication services began. The task of developing third and fourth generation networks in Crimea was set by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting on the development of communications in Crimea on August 4, 2014.

Mobile communication services are available to residents of Yalta, including suburban settlements, residents of popular resort cities and villages of the southern coast of Crimea, Kerch, Sevastopol, Simferopol and Simferopol district, as well as along the routes Kerch - Feodosia and Simferopol - Alushta, Simferopol - Yevpatoria.

Attempt to purchase Microsoft

After the imposition of sanctions on USA state structures Crimea, they did not refuse to purchase American technologies. So, for example, in February, 2015 the Main Investigation Department Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation across the Republic of Crimea announced ^[14] delivery to ON Microsoft Office 2013 the sum about 1.7 million rubles.

The place of delivery of the goods is indicated by the Republic of Crimea, the city of Simferopol, st. Kiev, d.76. The tender documentation notes that the equivalent of the purchased goods is not provided "due to the need to ensure the interaction of the acquired rights to use the software with the software products used by the customer, including Microsoft." It also states that when granting rights to use the Software, it should be possible to activate the license using a single re-installation key from the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) website.

The Russian representative office of Microsoft declined to comment on this tender, as well as representatives of distribution companies contacted by TAdviser. A source close to one of the distribution companies noted that "the very fact of having a tender does not mean that there are participants in it."

Most foreign IT companies in Russia work through their wide distribution channels, and those in turn through resellers. The interlocutor of TAdviser expressed doubt that they would take the risks of participating in such a tender in the Crimea in the current conditions, especially with government agencies, without agreeing on such a deal with the supplier. In addition, the provided penalties in case of failure and disruption of deliveries can seriously damage the business and reputation of distributors and resellers.

American companies themselves do not make decisions to join or not join the sanctions against the Crimea, they simply have to follow the law, the TAdviser interlocutor adds.

On February 25, the vendor was selected for this purchase. Its winner was the company "BalansSoft," based in Ulyanovsk. In addition to it, nine more companies participated in the tender: Legasoft, ITS Soft, Atika, South Software Company, Tender Technology Group, Streamline Soft, Data8, Pereda and Laurel.

The Russian representative office of Microsoft did not answer TAdviser questions related to the purchase. A source close to the distribution network, in a conversation with the correspondent, noted that the process of purchasing software from any vendor has a long chain in which distributors and resellers are involved: i.e., the process is multi-stage and takes a certain period of time.

"In such cases, the participation scheme is usually as follows: the reseller applies for participation in the tender, making price proposals based on the price list, which is published in the public domain, without requesting any additional information or preliminary verification from the distributor. With the reseller winning the tender, the process is just beginning, after which the order passes several verification stages at different levels, "the source explains

.

After submission of the application by the reseller, the distributor considers it for compliance with various criteria, while the application can be both approved and rejected by the distributor for various reasons. Thus, the purchase requisition may not even reach the vendor, and in case of getting to the vendor, he also carries out its verification, explains the interlocutor of TAdviser.

Purchasing Intel through Informzaschita

On the public procurement website, you can find other tenders of government agencies that involve the supply of products produced by American companies. So, in January, 2015 the Federal Treasury Department for the Republic of Crimea carried out ^[15] on supply of equipment for providing requirements for information security for the sum more than 55 million rubles.

The hardware and software encryption requirements specify, for example, that Intel processors should be used . The winner of this tender was determined by the company "Informzaschita." Its representatives declined to comment on TAdviser, how it is planned to circumvent the ban on the supply of American products as part of this purchase.

How MTS helps Crimean residents circumvent the digital blockade

Formally, none of the Russian federal mobile operators works in the Crimea. But, as the correspondent found out in the spring of 2015, CNews the de facto largest mobile operator on the peninsula is. MTS Sanctions imposed by Ukraine and the corporation Google against Crimea do not apply to Crimean subscribers of MTS^[16]

Foreign sanctions against Russian citizens and companies

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Sanctions of Ukraine against Russia

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Notes