Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism - BBC

What the report says

BBC News reported that Russian authorities have charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism, alleging that the messaging platform was used by Ukrainian secret services for recruitment and for activity linked to sabotage and terror inside Russia. Russia’s domestic security agency, the FSB, said Telegram had not removed channels, chats and bots that it claims were used by Ukraine. An international arrest warrant has been issued for Durov, according to the report.

Durov, 41, was born in Russia but has lived abroad for years and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports, BBC reported. The outlet noted that it is not clear whether foreign governments would act on a Russian warrant. After the charge was announced, Telegram’s account on X posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture. Durov has previously accused Russian authorities of inventing reasons to limit Russian users’ access to Telegram.

Telegram is widely used in Russia and Ukraine and has around 950 million users globally, according to the BBC article. Russian authorities have been limiting access to parts of the internet as part of a broader campaign against online freedoms. Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing demands to close opposition communities, having earlier founded VKontakte, a major Russian social network.

The case matters because Telegram is a central communications tool in the region, including during the Russia-Ukraine war, and because it highlights ongoing disputes over platform moderation, privacy and state control. BBC also noted that Durov faced a separate French investigation in 2024 over alleged moderation failures, which was still continuing after he was allowed to leave custody.