Ukraine has prohibited the use of Telegram on official devices issued to government and military personnel, as well as employees in the defense and critical infrastructure sectors. This decision, announced by the National Security and Defence Council (Rnbo), aims to mitigate threats from Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to the Rnbo, "Telegram is actively used by the enemy for cyber-attacks, distributing phishing and malicious software, tracking user geolocation, and adjusting missile strikes." The platform remains popular among both Ukrainian and Russian military and government officials.
The ban was decided during a meeting of top information security officials, military personnel, and lawmakers. Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov presented evidence suggesting that Russian special services could access personal Telegram messages, including deleted ones. Budanov emphasized that the issue is not about freedom of speech but national security.
Certain officials whose work requires the use of Telegram are exempt from the ban. Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Rnbo's center on countering disinformation, clarified that the restriction only applies to official devices, not personal ones. Government and military personnel can still update their official Telegram pages.
A 2022 USAID-Internews survey found that Telegram was the most widely used social platform in Ukraine for news, with 72% of Ukrainians relying on it. Founded in 2013 by Russian-born Pavel Durov and his brother, Telegram offers end-to-end encryption. Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition groups on the platform.
In August, Durov, who also holds French citizenship, was placed under investigation in France as part of a probe into organized crime, reigniting debates around freedom of speech, accountability, and content moderation. In July, Durov announced that Telegram had reached 950 million monthly active users.
