Is Twitch banned in Russia? Why streams won't load and what to do
Twitch won't open or streams buffer. What happened with Twitch in Russia in 2026, how to tell an outage from an ISP problem, and how to get smooth video back.
Twitch is not officially blocked in Russia, but outages happen.
Quick fix. If streams won't load but work for friends on another ISP, try a VPN. Get Surok in Telegram: 3 days free.
Timeline. Twitch has been fined repeatedly for not removing banned content. On 23–24 June 2026 videos and streams stopped loading for many users, mostly in the Kaluga, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions and Bashkortostan; Roskomnadzor said it does not restrict Twitch, and repeated in August 2026 that it has no plans to block it.
How to tell. Check an outage monitor; site loads but video doesn't — a route problem to video servers; switch networks; try a VPN.
What to do. Lower quality to 480p/720p, update the app or clear the browser cache, disable ad blockers, and use a VPN with a nearby exit (Poland, Germany, Estonia). zapret works unreliably for Twitch — see zapret or a VPN.