Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism, accusing the messaging platform of failing to remove accounts and channels used for recruitment by Ukraine’s secret services, the BBC and Associated Press reported.
The FSB alleges that Telegram has been used as a tool by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to recruit Russian citizens for acts of sabotage and terrorism. An international arrest warrant has been issued for the 41-year-old Russian-born billionaire, who has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and UAE passports.
Shortly after the charge was announced, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of Durov holding up his middle finger. He has previously accused Russian authorities of trying to pressure the platform.
Telegram is widely used across Russia and Ukraine, with approximately 950 million users worldwide. The company has long positioned itself as a privacy-focused alternative to other social media platforms, and has previously denied accusations of insufficient content moderation.
Durov originally left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition groups on VKontakte, the social network he also founded. He was arrested in France in 2024 over similar allegations of failing to moderate criminal activity on Telegram, though he was later released while the investigation continued.
It remains unclear whether any country will act on the arrest warrant issued by Moscow. Russian authorities have been steadily restricting access to Telegram as part of a broader crackdown on internet freedom, even as the app enjoys widespread domestic use.
Author: Pulse Of Nations Wire Desk
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