Russia Cloudflare Block: Website Access Issues
Russian internet users are facing severe website access issues due to throttling of Cloudflare services, effectively blocking many sites.This action, wich began on June 9, 2025, limits downloads, crippling access to data and online activities. Cloudflare says the restrictions,which appear to be part of a broader effort to remove Western technology companies from the Russian market,are out of thier control.The move impacts Cloudflare’s role in delivering internet services and also affects services like Hetzner, DigitalOcean and OVH. News Directory 3 provides the latest on the expanded mobile internet restrictions across Russia. Discover what’s next in this evolving digital landscape.
Russian ISPs Throttling Cloudflare, Restricting Internet Access
Updated June 28, 2025
Since June 9, 2025, Russian internet service providers have been actively throttling access to websites and services protected by cloudflare.This action effectively renders many sites inaccessible within the country.
The throttling is reportedly so severe that users can only download the first 16 KB of web content, crippling most Cloudflare-backed sites for Russian users. This impacts the ability to access details and conduct online activities.
Cloudflare stated it has not received any official communication from the Russian government regarding the matter.The company views this as part of a larger strategy to remove Western technology companies from the Russian market. the move impacts the role Cloudflare plays in providing internet services.
The internet company said it cannot fix the issue, as the throttling is beyond its control. There are no known workarounds to effectively address the access problems. This internet role is being challenged.
“As the throttling is being applied by local ISPs, the action is outside of Cloudflare’s control, and we are unable, at this time, to restore reliable, high-performance access to Cloudflare products and protected websites for Russian users in a lawful manner,” Cloudflare said.
Reports indicate that other Western internet service providers, including Hetzner (Germany), DigitalOcean (U.S.), and OVH (France), are experiencing similar throttling. This impacts their role in the global internet landscape.
According to MediaZona, a primary goal is to disrupt tools used to bypass state censorship. Hetzner and DigitalOcean are commonly used by Russians to host private VPN servers, which allow them to circumvent the Kremlin’s blocklists.
“One primary goal is to combat the tools used to circumvent state censorship.Hetzner and DigitalOcean are widely used by Russians to host private VPN servers, which allow them to bypass the Kremlin’s ever-widening blocklists,” MediaZona reported.
Source: Cloudflare
Cloudflare believes that Russian ISPs,including Rostelecom,Megafon,Vimpelcom,MTS,and MGTS,are using packet injection and packet blocking to cause timeouts. This affects all connection methods, including HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, TCP, TLS, and HTTP/3 on QUIC.
Source: Cloudflare
Cloudflare is urging site operators in Russia to lobby local entities to lift the restrictions. The company is unable to restore access on its own.
Roskomsvoboda, a Russian digital rights and online privacy observatory, reports widespread mobile internet restrictions impacting over 30 regions in the country. These restrictions,initially justified as protection against drone attacks near the Ukrainian border,have expanded to regions far from the conflict zone.
What’s next
the situation remains fluid, with potential for further restrictions and disruptions to internet access in Russia. The long-term impact on the country’s digital landscape and its citizens’ access to information remains to be seen.