Ukraine bans Telegram on government devices amid national security concerns

PTC Web Desk: Ukraine has imposed a ban on the use of Telegram messaging platform on official devices issued to government, military personnel, and critical infrastructure employees. The National Security and Defence Council (Rnbo) of Ukraine made the decision to reduce security risks associated with Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in 2022.

The Rnbo highlighted that Telegram has been actively exploited by Russian forces for cyber-attacks, phishing, malware distribution, tracking user locations, and guiding missile strikes. This decision was reached following a meeting of key military officials, information security experts, and lawmakers, who all supported the move.

Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, presented substantial evidence showing that Russian special services have access to Telegram users’ personal messages, including those that have been deleted. 

Exceptions to the ban have been made for officials whose job requires them to use Telegram. Andriy Kovalenko, head of Rnbo’s counter-disinformation unit, clarified that the ban only applies to official devices and not to personal smartphones. Government and military officials will also be permitted to maintain their official Telegram pages.

Telegram is a popular platform for news in Ukraine, with a 2022 survey by USAID-Internews revealing that 72% of Ukrainians use it for this purpose. The platform was co-founded in 2013 by Russian-born Pavel Durov, who left Russia a year later after resisting government pressure to shut down opposition groups. Durov, who now holds French citizenship, is currently under investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime, sparking debates on freedom of speech and platform accountability.