Telegram channel tracking mass roundups of men in Russia blocked

A Telegram channel called "Novosti Proiskhodiashchego" ("News of What's Happening"), used by residents of Penza to report on raids and mass roundups of men being coerced into signing military contracts, has been blocked.

According to the independent Russian outlet 7×7, the channel was still accessible on the evening of June 22. By the morning of June 23, only a post announcing the blocking—with no explanation—and a call to subscribe to a new, private channel remained.

The channel appeared in mid-June, when Penza residents began sharing accounts of mass roundups of men of conscription age. Within three days, it had attracted more than 600 subscribers.

On June 21, the Penza police warned that people would be held accountable for spreading false information about "alleged mass detentions of men by police officers for dispatch to the SVO zone." The police stated that "inflaming this situation" was leading to "a surge in crime and lawlessness."

The police did not specify the sources of the "false information," but 7×7 had at the time pointed to the "Novosti Proiskhodiashchego" channel.