Russian Digital Development Minister Maksud Shadayev told the Interfax news agency that foreign spies can read messages sent by Russian soldiers on the Telegram app, Reuters reports.
Telegram is one of the most popular messaging apps in Russia, and is widely used by its aggressor country’s soldiers in the war in Ukraine. The messaging app is currently under pressure from authorities, who have imposed restrictions in response to what the Kremlin says is its failure to delete content it deems “extremist.”
Shadayev said there are signs that foreign intelligence services can access messages and use the information against Russia.
Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor said it had slowed Telegram’s operations,
part of a broader crackdown on foreign messaging apps that it said were refusing to comply with Russian law.
The Kremlin has confirmed that WhatsApp, owned by US tech giant Meta, has been completely blocked because it did not comply with local laws. Russians have been advised to use the state-backed “national messanger” MAX instead. Critics have responded by saying MAX is a surveillance tool, a claim the authorities deny.
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