Meanwhile in Russia, mobile data shutdowns are becoming a routine. Especially in regions closer to the border/front line. They say it's to fight drone attacks, but no word on how effective that actually is.

Drones just use onboard fiber spools these days, so the mobile shutdowns don't change much.

That's the short-distance FPV drones used near the front line. The long-distance ones, the kinds that strike hundreds of kilometers deep, fly pre-programmed routes afaik but also use mobile networks for something. Maybe intelligence collection, maybe so an operator could take over.