Russia prepares to shut down YouTube

Russia is preparing a complete blockade of YouTube, which would mark the next stage of the systematic digital isolation of the Russian population.

According to Ukrinform, the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council said this in a Telegram post.

"In the Russian State Duma, it has been openly stated that the service will be permanently shut down within the next year, and content creators are being advised to 'voluntarily' migrate to state-controlled platforms," the statement says.

Officially, the blocking is justified by "violations of legislation" and "disrespect for the country". In reality, the main reason is YouTube's refusal to comply with Russian state censorship. The Kremlin sees this as a threat to the regime. The Center for Countering Disinformation emphasized that blocking YouTube is a logical continuation of a series of digital bans. Russian authorities are systematically pushing out global platforms, restricting messengers, online games, video communication services, and simultaneously dismantling the infrastructure used to bypass censorship.

Under the slogan of "digital sovereignty", Russia is methodically building an "iron curtain". Putin's Russia is step by step moving toward a totalitarian model in which the state decides what citizens can watch, whom to listen to, and how to form their view of the world.

As Ukrinform reported, the Russian government has authorized Roskomnadzor, starting March 1, 2026, to block any websites and disconnect the Russian segment of the internet from the global network, including in cases of "distribution of prohibited content".

Photo: Imago/photothek/T. Trutschel