Ukraine asks ICANN to cut Russia off from the domain space
Ukraine requested that the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – a multistakeholder body that manages global internet domains and resources – take measures in response to the Russian operation in Ukraine.
Ukraine requested that ICANN remove Russia from the internet. More specifically, in the letter from Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, to Goran Marby, President and CEO of ICANN Ukraine requested that ICANN (quote):
- Revoke, permanently or temporarily, the domains ‘.ru’, ‘.рф and ‘.su’. This list is not exhaustive and may also include other domains issued in the Russian Federation.
- Contribute to the revoking for SSL certificates for the abovementioned domains.
- Shut down DNS root servers situated in the Russian Federation, namely:
- Saint Petersburg, RU (IPv4 199.7.83.42)
- Moscow, RU (IPv4 199.7.83.42, 3 instances)
The Ukrainian representative announced a similar request to RIPE NCC, the technical organisation that manages the assignment of IP addresses in the broader European region, asking them to withdraw the right of all Russian members of RIPE to use any IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
Until now, neither ICANN nor the US Department of Commerce (since 2015) have revoked any country domain names during conflicts or wars, such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq, ex-YU, Libya, and Sudan.
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