The Kremlin increases pressure: FSB declares Telegram a risk to troops
It's no secret that the Kremlin would prefer to ban Telegram, but criticism of the plan is loud. Now the domestic intelligence service FSB is getting involved.
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Russia has further increased the pressure on the popular Telegram messenger; over the weekend, the domestic intelligence service FSB warned that Ukraine could obtain information about the location of Russian troops through it. The state news agency TASS reports, citing a spokesperson for the KGB successor. It stated that they have “reliable information that the armed forces of Ukraine, as well as special units, can very quickly receive content shared on Telegram and use it for military purposes.” The use of Telegram by the Russian army therefore endangers the lives of soldiers. This claim is likely intended to pave the way for a ban on Telegram.
Telegram banned soon?
The campaign against Telegram is part of a wave of blockades against internet services, with which the Kremlin wants to push people in the country to switch to services that originate from Russia and can therefore be more easily controlled. In the process, access to WhatsApp was also completely blocked a week and a half ago. The messenger from the Facebook group Meta has since assured that it wants to do everything possible to ensure that people can continue to communicate via the messenger. However, Telegram is a different caliber; the service is enormously popular in Russia and is also used by media and companies for communication. After the shutdown of Starlink, it has become even more important for coordination on the front in Ukraine.
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For months, the Kremlin has been urging people in the country to switch to MAX, a messenger promoted by the Russian state. It has had to be pre-installed on all sold smartphones and tablets since the summer. According to Bloomberg, several influential military bloggers have recently warned that a ban on Telegram could deprive Russian troops in Ukraine of their last means of communication. Nevertheless, the leadership is apparently working towards it. Just a few days ago, the telecommunications supervisory authority Roskomnadzor accused Telegram of maintaining infrastructure through which personal data was systematically accessed.
(mho)
