Ukraine has implemented a ban on the use of the Telegram messaging app by government officials, soldiers, and critical infrastructure workers on state-issued devices. The ban was announced by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council in a statement on facebook. This move comes amidst concerns that Russian intelligence has gained access to Telegram.
In Ukraine, Telegram is not only used for personal messaging but also as a source of news about the ongoing war and Russian air attacks. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s intelligence chief, alleged that Russian spies have been able to access users’ personal messages on Telegram, including deleted messages and their data.
Budanov emphasized that while he supports freedom of speech, the issue with Telegram goes beyond that—it is a matter of national security. Ukrainian authorities believe that Russian intelligence is using Telegram for cyber attacks, phishing attempts, spreading malware, as well as locating users and targeting missile strikes on Ukrainian military positions.
The ban applies to government employees, military personnel, security and defense sector employees, as well as companies operating critical infrastructure. However, it does not affect official Telegram channels of public authorities.
President Volodymyr Zelensky himself uses Telegram to communicate with the public and share important updates about the war with Russia. Meanwhile Pavel Durov—the CEO of Telegram who was recently arrested in Paris—has stated that his platform remains independent and aims to protect users in authoritarian regimes.
Telegram is widely popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics despite previous attempts by Russia to ban it. The app allows for one-on-one conversations as well as group chats with up to 200k participants—unlike WhatsApp which has a limit of 1k participants. With over 950 million active users worldwide according to Telegram’s own data.
It’s worth noting that this move by Ukraine follows similar actions taken by other countries regarding popular apps like TikTok due to concerns over data security risks associated with foreign regimes accessing sensitive government information.
