Belarus blocks VPNs and foreign websites

According to hosting provider Hoster.by, the restrictions apply to access to a number of foreign sites and services.

According to the report, the restriction did not affect all sites, but mainly small sites and initiatives that used the "virtual hosting" service, while large news platforms, banks, and online stores remained accessible.

Access to the sites was suspended at 10:00 on January 25 and will continue until 23:59 on January 27. The restrictions were imposed by order of the Operational and Analytical Center.

These measures are due to threats to information infrastructure facilities and information processed using them, the company said in a statement.

Users outside Belarus noticed the unavailability of the Myfin website, the personal account of Belarusian Railways, as well as the applications of Alfa-Bank, Beltelecom, and Eplus. At the same time, these resources continued to work for Belarusian IPs.

Users reported difficulties connecting to various foreign sites, including Twitch, Steam, and Reddit, and also noticed a deterioration in the performance of the Telegram messenger. According to Downdetector.su, problems with accessing Wikipedia were also recorded for some time.

"Elections" in Belarus: what is known

On January 26, 2025, presidential "elections" will be held in Belarus, in which Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, plans to run for a seventh term.

On the eve of the elections, Lukashenko had already threatened to completely shut down the internet if the situation repeated itself, as in 2020, when mass protests began after the presidential elections.

Then, to suppress them, restrictions on internet access were imposed, which lasted for several days. Many Belarusians consider these elections illegitimate and do not recognize Lukashenko's victory in the previous presidential race.