Police officers in Moscow are reportedly demanding to read the text messages from the phones of pedestrians as Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine continues.

Kommersant journalist Ana Vasilyeva shared video of Russians queued up before law enforcement officers who were said to be scrolling through text messages on their mobile phones.

Meduza editor Kevin Rothrock called the actions "illegal as hell."

"This, even in Russia, is illegal as hell," he explained. "Ana says she approached the officers to ask on what grounds they were doing this. They demanded to see her press credentials and ignored her question after confirming that she is a journalist."

"I can tell you that independent Russian newsrooms all instruct their employees in Russia to disable all biometrics on their smart devices, to prevent the cops from smashing your finger on Touch ID or holding your phone in front of you for Face ID," Rothrock added.