MOSCOW, July 29 (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday it had charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging that his hugely popular messaging app was being used by Ukrainian spies to organise attacks inside Russia.
In response, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of the Russian-born billionaire making an obscene gesture with his middle finger.
The charges, announced by the Federal Security Service (FSB), marked the culmination of a long investigation against Dubai-based 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 now by using a VPN to encrypt traffic and conceal their location. Yet state bodies including the Kremlin and the defence ministry continue to post to it on a daily basis.
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 said 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 posting 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.
The FSB statement said Durov was being placed on an international wanted list, but it did not specify what mechanism Russia would use to do this.
The global police organisation Interpol did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If Moscow does request a Red Notice, however, the process is unlikely to be quick, said a source with knowledge of the situation. — Reuters
