Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism

Key facts

• Russia charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and placed him on an international wanted list.
• The Federal Security Service (FSS) alleged that Telegram's administration failed to remove channels and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence and terrorist groups for sabotage and cyberfraud.
• Ukrainian security services were accused of using a dating chatbot on Telegram to recruit Russians for sabotage and terrorist activities.
• 46 users of the chatbot, aged 12 to 22, have been detained across Russia since July 2025 for assaulting law enforcement officers and arson.
• The charges are part of the Kremlin's broader effort to control the internet, which has intensified since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• Pavel Durov, a French citizen living in Dubai, was previously arrested in Paris in 2024 over allegations of illicit activity on Telegram and returned to Dubai in March 2025.