WhatsApp stated that Russian authorities attempted to "completely block" its operations in the country, aiming to "force people to switch to a state-controlled, surveillance-prone application." The statement was published on February 11 on the social network X (blocked in Russia) in English and Russian.

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"Today, Russian authorities attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to force people to switch to a state-controlled, surveillance-prone application. The attempt to leave over 100 million users without the right to private and secure communication is a step backward that can only lead to reduced safety for people in Russia," the company's statement said.

WhatsApp noted that it continues to do "everything possible to keep users connected."

In response, the Kremlin indicated that "an opportunity for agreement" would arise if Meta, which owns WhatsApp, "engages in dialogue with Russian authorities" and is willing to comply with Russian legislation. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized that with Meta's uncompromising position, "there is no chance of resuming full service operation."

Earlier, the Cnews portal reported that the WhatsApp domain disappeared from Roskomnadzor's DNS servers, making it impossible to use the service in Russia. Authorities previously restricted access to YouTube in a similar manner.

Experts suggested that temporary technical disruptions might be due to overload of Roskomnadzor's equipment from simultaneously blocking several major services, including YouTube, Telegram, and WhatsApp. In Russia, the national messenger Max has been operational since last year and is mandatory for pre-installation on smartphones.

The Kremlin previously stated that the possibility of restoring WhatsApp's operation is only feasible if Meta cooperates with Russian authorities.

Source: https://kun.uz/ru/news/2026/02/12/whatsapp-rossiya-pytalas-polnostyu-zablokirovat-messendjyer