Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Pavel Durov, the founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, in absentia with “aiding terrorism” under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of Russia’s Criminal Code. Moscow plans to put him on an international wanted list.
The FSB claimed Telegram’s administration had failed to remove channels, chats, and bots that Ukrainian intelligence services allegedly use “to prepare terrorist attacks and mass killings in Russia.”
The FSB statement also said:
- Ukrainian intelligence operations carried out through Telegram caused numerous casualties, including among women and children, and inflicted billions in damage.
- Ukrainian intelligence officers recruited Russian men through “Daivinchik,” a Telegram dating bot. The name is a Russian rendering of “Da Vinci” and is widely used for dating chats and matchmaking inside Telegram.
- Since July 2025, Russian authorities have detained 46 Daivinchik users who allegedly attacked police officers or carried out arson attacks across 16 of the country’s regions on orders from Ukrainian intelligence services.
According to the FSB, Ukrainian intelligence officers contacted Russian men while posing as women and sent them malicious links, supposedly to pay for movie tickets or gifts. Ukrainian agents then allegedly contacted the victims, presenting themselves as Russian law enforcement officers or representatives of Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial monitoring agency.
“The fake law enforcement officers said the money sent had gone to accounts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and that the coordinates provided had been used by the enemy to plan missile strikes and drone attacks,” the FSB claimed.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s internet and media regulator, began slowing Telegram in February 2026. Around the same time, media reports said Durov was being investigated on suspicion of “aiding terrorist activity.” Voice calls via Telegram were later disabled in Russia, where users now have to use the messenger through virtual private networks, or VPNs.
Durov was detained in France in August 2024. French authorities charged him with several offenses, including fraud, refusing to cooperate with law enforcement, and complicity in drug trafficking the distribution of child sexual abuse material. He was allowed to leave France in 2025, but the investigation remains ongoing.
