Ukrainian Intelligence Reports Russia Plans to Convert Internet Into State-Controlled Infrastructure

Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) reported on May 4 that Russia's Ministry of Digital Development is developing a package of measures to place the Russian internet under full state control through economic and licensing pressure rather than outright blocking. The central mechanism, per SZRU, is a planned $2-per-gigabyte fee on international traffic for mobile subscribers, structured so that continuous VPN use would consume 25–30 GB monthly and become financially prohibitive. A parallel licensing reform would consolidate the current 17 license categories into three, raising minimum capital requirements from roughly $134 to between $66,000 and $1.3 million depending on tier; SZRU assessed that more than 90 percent of Russia's 4,200-plus broadband providers would face liquidation or acquisition under those thresholds. Telecom operators have reportedly requested a delay to the traffic fee until at least September 1, citing technical unreadiness, and SZRU also noted separate proposals to mandate SORM installation, granting the FSB direct traffic access, on shortened timelines and to reinstate operator inspections despite a moratorium through 2030.