- Vladimir Putin bans Russians living near Ukraine from using dating apps
- Paranoid autocrat fears Ukrainian spies trying to steal secrets
- Ukraine is currently in the midst of a major military offensive on Russian soil.
An increasingly paranoid Vladimir Putin has banned Russians living near the Ukrainian border from using dating apps, amid fears that Ukrainian spies are using them to gather intelligence.
Ukraine now occupies a swathe of Russian territory after a daring incursion into Putin’s fiefdom.
The Kremlin’s Department for Combating Illegal Use of Information Technologies has banned the app for people living in three Russian regions, Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk, all of which border Ukraine.
Military personnel in these regions have also been warned about the threat of being ensnared by seemingly desirable women on dating sites, including the popular Russian dating site Mamba, the country’s largest.
“The use of online dating services is strongly discouraged,” Putin’s government warned.
Military men have been warned about the threat of being caught by seemingly desirable women on dating sites, including the popular Russian dating site Mamba (pictured)
![Putin bans Russians from using dating apps near Ukraine border over fears of spying in kyiv 7 The Kremlin's Department for Combating Illegal Use of Information Technologies has banned the app from people living in three Russian regions: Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1724315300_5_Putin-bans-Russians-from-using-dating-apps-near-Ukraine-border.jpg.webp)
The Kremlin’s Department for Combating Illegal Use of Information Technologies has banned the app from people living in three Russian regions: Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk.
![Putin bans Russians from using dating apps near Ukraine border over fears of spying in kyiv 9 Russian soldiers told not to use dating apps](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1724315301_110_Putin-bans-Russians-from-using-dating-apps-near-Ukraine-border.jpg.webp)
Russian soldiers told not to use dating apps
![Putin bans Russians from using dating apps near Ukraine border over fears of spying in kyiv 11 An increasingly paranoid Vladimir Putin (pictured) has banned Russians living near the Ukrainian border from using dating apps.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1724315301_885_Putin-bans-Russians-from-using-dating-apps-near-Ukraine-border.jpg.webp)
An increasingly paranoid Vladimir Putin (pictured) has banned Russians living near the Ukrainian border from using dating apps.
“The enemy actively uses such resources to… gather information.”
Russians in border regions are being told not to post videos recorded by their car dashboard cameras.
These could be used by the Ukrainian military “to calculate the movements of equipment and personnel.”
Putin’s security officials and military personnel have been ordered to disable certain functions of the popular messenger Telegram and not to “open links from strangers.”
They were also ordered to delete all photos and videos that might indicate that a friend or relative was an FSB security service officer or was in the armed forces.
![Putin bans Russians from using dating apps near Ukraine border over fears of spying in kyiv 13 Ukrainian servicemen ride on a tank after returning from Russia near the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1724315302_949_Putin-bans-Russians-from-using-dating-apps-near-Ukraine-border.jpg.webp)
Ukrainian servicemen ride on a tank after returning from Russia near the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.
![Putin bans Russians from using dating apps near Ukraine border over fears of spying in kyiv 15 A man rides a bicycle through the rubble of a multi-storey building, destroyed a few days earlier following an attack in the town of Myrnohrad, on August 21, 2024.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1724315302_577_Putin-bans-Russians-from-using-dating-apps-near-Ukraine-border.jpg.webp)
A man rides a bicycle through the rubble of a multi-storey building, destroyed a few days earlier following an attack in the town of Myrnohrad, on August 21, 2024.
“Never open any link (hyperlink) received from strangers in messengers or SMS messages,” they are told.
It comes just days after Ukraine. Launched what is believed to be the largest drone attack ever carried out against Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began in February 2022.
Russian officials said they shot down 11 drones flying toward Moscow and were forced to repel another 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.
Moscow has temporarily closed three airports, but there have been no casualties or significant damage to buildings, according to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.