STRASBOURG: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday accused the Kremlin of cutting Russians off from the internet to hide worsening economic conditions in the country as sanctions over the Ukraine war bite.
"With inflation increasing and interest rates skyrocketing, the consequences of Russia's war of choice are also being paid for out of Russian people's pockets," European Commission head von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
"So much so that the Kremlin responds... by restricting the internet and free communication."
Von der Leyen said that "Russians feel that they live behind an Iron Curtain again, this time a digital Iron Curtain."
"If history has one lesson, it's that all worlds eventually fall," she said.
Russian authorities have recently stepped up efforts to control internet access in the country, throttling messenger apps Telegram and WhatsApp, tightening restrictions on VPNs (virtual private networks), and imposing blackouts.
The switch-offs, including in the capital Moscow, have caused rare expressions of public discontent after years of the Kremlin clamping down on free speech.
Since sending troops into Ukraine, Russia has hardened its rules against public signs of dissent, outlawing criticism of the Kremlin and the Russian army with strict military censorship laws.
The European Union last week approved a massive loan for Ukraine and imposed a new package of sanctions on Moscow after months of delay.
The new round of economic sanctions is the 20th from the 27-nation bloc since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in 2022.
While Russia's economy has so far largely weathered the economic punishment, EU officials insist that cracks are increasingly beginning to show.