ASSESSMENTS

Ukraine Breaks Another Link to Russia

May 24, 2017 | 09:00 GMT

Much as protesters have created a physical blockade of border crossings between the breakaway Donetsk region and western Ukraine, the government in Kiev has implemented an online blockade of Russian-based social media and email platforms.

(ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

Cyberspace is the latest front in Ukraine's fight to distance itself from Russia. A decree signed by President Petro Poroshenko to block Russia-based social media and email services from Ukraine has been met with criticism and protests by some groups. And while it will be impossible to implement in full, the ban marks a further weakening of ties between the two countries that could resonate well into the future.

Ever since the Euromaidan uprising in 2014, Ukraine has steadily chipped away at the political, economic and military ties between itself and Russia. Amid the ongoing conflict with Russian-backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine, a blockade of the separatist territories was enacted, driving the wedge between the countries even deeper. And now, the gulf has reached a new level with the decree, which entered force May 17, cutting Ukranians' official access to popular Russian-based internet services. Ukrainian internet providers were instructed to block access to social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, the Mail.ru email service and the major search engine Yandex, and their parent companies will now face a number of measures, including asset freezes and trade restrictions....

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