Russia imposes 'military censorship' on the internet, ban on public gatherings and strikes in occupied Ukraine

• Russia, via a local proxy, is imposing a ban on public gatherings and strikes in occupied Ukraine.
• A decree published Sunday also announces that "military censorship" will be imposed on the internet.

The Kremlin-backed head of a separatist region in eastern Ukraine is imposing a regime of military censorship — and a ban on going outside during the night — as fierce fighting continues in the self-proclaimed "republic" of Donetsk.

In a decree published Sunday, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic, "imposed military censorship on mail, Internet communications and phone conversations," Russian state media reported.

The decree also prohibits public gatherings that have not received prior approval from military authorities, according to Reuters. Civilians are likewise banned from going outside on weekdays between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.; workers are also barred from going on strike, per Ukrainska Pravda.

The order comes as Ukrainian and Russian forces clash along the borders of Donetsk, which Moscow formally (and illegally) annexed last year.

On Saturday, Russia's Ministry of Defense said it had fought back five Ukrainian attacks in western Donestk, near the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, noted in a briefing on developments in the conflict. Ukraine is also engaged in offensive operations around Bakhmut, seized by Moscow this past spring, that officials say is aimed at pinning down Russian troops and preventing them from joining operations elsewhere.