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Russia blocks access to several foreign mail services after wave of bomb threats

The move has to do with the bomb threats messages that used to come from the websites

MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Russia has blocked access to four foreign mail services used to send out bomb threats at various facilities, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) informed TASS on Wednesday.

"In February 2020, anonymous users have continued their criminal activity via the Tutanota.com mail service (Germany). On February 13, 2020, three e-mails with fake bomb threats at 206 facilities in St. Petersburg were sent out, including courts and kindergartens of the Petrodvortsovsky District of St. Petersburg," the FSB Public Relations Center informed TASS.

The FSB added that last year, 58 anonymous bomb threats had been sent with the use of the same mail client to various facilities across Russia. The Russian security service noted that the mail service Tutanota.com would be banned in Russia starting February 14 for security purposes.

According to the FSB Public Relations Center, "starting January 29, 2020, in accordance with Russian law, access to Protonmail.com (Switzerland) has been blocked, as it was used starting January 24 to send out bomb threats to judicial bodies of power in four Russian regions."

"All threats were confirmed false. For the same reason, access to foreign mail services Startmail.com, Guerrillamail.com and Cock.li has been blocked as well," the FSB stated.

A wave of bomb threats descended upon Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian regions in late November 2019. Unknown persons repeatedly call in bomb threats at various facilities: courts, schools, hospitals, airports, train stations. All the previous threats resulted to be false.