Russia has blocked access to the messaging app Telegram without a VPN since early April, part of a broader crackdown on internet freedom that authorities say is justified by Ukrainian drone attacks. The restrictions have triggered unusual public discontent, with viral complaints from ordinary citizens unable to work or study online, and even pro-Kremlin figures — including TV personality Ivan Okhlobystin and blogger Victoria Bona — publicly criticising the measures as a return to Soviet-era isolation. Russia's state pollster VTSIOM now puts President Putin's approval rating at 67.8%, down eight points since January and matching the lows seen during the September 2022 partial military mobilisation.