Russia said on Wednesday that it had charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging that his messaging app was being used by Ukrainian spies to organise attacks inside Russia.
The charges, announced by the Federal Security Service (FSB), are the culmination of a long investigation against Mr Durov and Telegram.
Moscow has effectively throttled the service as part of a wider campaign to cut off access to foreign tech platforms and tighten control over the internet.
Russians can only access Telegram by using a VPN to encrypt traffic and conceal their location. Yet state bodies including the Kremlin and the defence ministry continue to use it daily.
The app has been described as a “virtual battlefield” in the war between Russia and Ukraine, where it is used by officials, soldiers and influential bloggers on both sides.
In statements, the FSB and the state Investigative Committee claimed a chatbot available on Telegram called Daivinchik/Leo had been used by Ukrainian special services to recruit young Russians to carry out sabotage and terrorist operations.
Daivinchik/Leo is a popular dating chatbot in Russia, where Tinder is no longer available. The statement said Ukrainian spies posing as young women were using it to contact and entrap Russians before coercing them into committing crimes.
The FSB said 46 Russians aged 12 to 22 had been arrested in the past year after being recruited in this way to carry out attacks on law enforcement officers or set fire to transport, energy, communications or financial infrastructure.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
In 2024 Mr Durov was arrested in France over allegations that Telegram failed to adequately counter criminal activity on the platform and did not sufficiently co-operate with law enforcement requests. He was later allowed to leave the country while investigations continued.
Mr Durov denies wrongdoing and says Telegram has exceeded its obligations to moderate content and co-operate with authorities to fight crime.
