Since the Euromaidan uprising in 2014, Ukraine has steadily chipped away at the political, economic and military links between itself and Russia. Amid the ongoing conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the separatist territories were blockaded , driving the wedge between the countries even deeper. Now the gulf has widened with the decree, which entered into force May 17, cutting Ukranians' official access to popular Russia-based internet services. Ukrainian internet providers were instructed to block access to social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, the Mail.ru email service and the major search engine Yandex. Meanwhile, their parent companies will face a number of punitive measures, including asset freezes and trade restrictions.