Source: Reuters
“Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that it had charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and had issued an international warrant for his arrest. The FSB said that the charges related to Telegram’s failure to remove material ‘used by Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations within the Russian Federation.’ Soon afterwards, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture with his middle finger. … Russia has repeatedly tried to restrict Telegram’s use in recent years, promoting its own state-backed MAX messenger service. Yet state bodies including the Kremlin and the defence ministry continue to post to Telegram on a daily basis.” (07/29/26)